California new hire paperwork: DE 4, the 2810.5 notice and the DE 34 report

California asks more of employers at hiring than most states, but the extra items fall into a clear pattern. Some are forms the employee fills in, some are notices the employer must hand over, and one is a report the employer files. Sorting the packet that way keeps a notice from being mistaken for a form, or the reverse.

Here, Form DE 4 is the Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate from the Employment Development Department (California EDD, Form DE 4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate). The notice is the wage notice under Labor Code § 2810.5, which tells the employee in writing how and when they will be paid (California Labor Code § 2810.5). The report goes to the EDD New Employee Registry (California EDD, New Employee Registry (new hire reporting)).

The EDD publishes the DE 4, the DE 34 report form and the benefit pamphlets (California EDD, New Employee Registry (new hire reporting)). The Labor Commissioner, at the Department of Industrial Relations, prepares the template for the § 2810.5 wage notice (California Labor Code § 2810.5). The employer fills in the notice, hands over the pamphlets and files the report; the employee completes the DE 4 with the federal forms (California EDD, Form DE 4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate).

1. Start from the federal set in the new hire paperwork guide: Form I-9 and Form W-4.
2. Add the current DE 4 from the EDD forms page (California EDD, Form DE 4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate).
3. Fill in the Labor Commissioner’s wage notice template for each non-exempt hire.
4. Print the EDD pamphlets and check that the right EDD poster is on the wall.
5. File the hire with the EDD through e-Services for Business, or by mail or fax.

• Skipping the DE 4 because the employee filled in a federal Form W-4: without the DE 4, the employer must use Single with zero allowances (California EDD, Form DE 4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate).
• Giving the wage notice to salaried exempt staff only and missing the hourly hires, who are the ones the law covers (California Labor Code § 2810.5).
• Changing a pay rate and not telling the employee in writing within seven calendar days, when no pay statement shows it (California Labor Code § 2810.5).
• Forgetting to report a rehire who left more than two months ago.

Use this as the cover sheet of a California packet. Each row names the issuing agency, so you know where to get the current version.

This wage notice is a one-page written statement of pay terms. At hiring, the employer gives each covered employee a written notice in the language it normally uses with that employee for work matters (California Labor Code § 2810.5). It is often called the Wage Theft Prevention Act notice. Exempt employees, public employees and some union-covered staff are outside the rule (California Labor Code § 2810.5).

• Rates of pay and how they are set: hourly, shift, day, week, salary, piece or commission, with overtime rates.
• Allowances claimed as part of the minimum wage, such as meals or lodging.
• The regular payday.
• The employer’s name and any “doing business as” names, the main office address, mailing address and phone.
• The workers’ compensation carrier’s name, address and phone.
• Paid sick leave rights, and any emergency or disaster declaration for the county issued within 30 days before the first day (California Labor Code § 2810.5).

California withholding does not follow the federal Form W-4, so the employee fills in both. If the employee does not give you a completed DE 4, you must withhold as Single with zero allowances (California EDD, Form DE 4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate).

The DE 4 also has a second use (California EDD, New Employee Registry (new hire reporting)). The EDD accepts a copy of the employee’s Form W-4 or DE 4 as the new hire report, if you add the start-of-work date, your California payroll tax account number and your FEIN (California EDD, New Employee Registry (new hire reporting)).

California employers report new or rehired employees who work in the state within 20 calendar days of the start-of-work date (California EDD, New Employee Registry (new hire reporting)). The start-of-work date is the first day services were performed for wages (California EDD, New Employee Registry (new hire reporting)). The EDD treats a returning person as a rehire after a separation of at least 60 consecutive days (California EDD, New Employee Registry (new hire reporting)).

1. Online: submit the Report of New Employee(s) through e-Services for Business.
2. Paper: fill in the DE 34, or a computer-generated form that follows the EDD print specifications, and mail or fax it (California EDD, New Employee Registry (new hire reporting)).
3. Shortcut: send the W-4 or DE 4 copy with the three employer fields added (California EDD, New Employee Registry (new hire reporting)).
4. Report nothing in a period with no new or rehired employees.

Some of the packet is your own practice, for example the direct deposit form with a voided check, the emergency contact form and the handbook acknowledgment. Label these as company forms so a new hire can tell them apart from the state items above.

If the employee is a contractor rather than an employee, none of this packet applies. The EDD runs a separate report for independent contractors.

• California EDD, New Employee Registry (new hire reporting): Report new and rehired employees within 20 calendar days of the start-of-work date; rehire after 60 consecutive days; DE 34, e-Services, or a W-4 or DE 4 copy with three employer fields.
• California EDD, Required Notices and Pamphlets: Employers post DE 1857A, DE 1857D or DE 1858 and give employees DE 2320, DE 2515 and DE 2511 when needed.
• California Labor Code § 2810.5: Written notice at hiring with pay rates, allowances, payday, employer details, workers’ compensation carrier and sick leave rights; changes within seven calendar days; exempt employees excluded.
• California Government Code § 12950: Every employer distributes the department’s sexual harassment information sheet to its employees, unless it provides equivalent information.
• California EDD, Form DE 4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate: Without a completed DE 4, the employer must use Single with zero withholding allowances.