Pay Statements Florida

[Jackdog]

Well I'm meeting with my third attorney this Tuesday and will pick one. When I went to work today I asked my boss about getting 6 months worth of pay stubs. I get paid weekly and have a decent amount of them but not six months worth. The pay stubs do show a running total of income. My boss told me good luck that he would call payroll with me on Monday when I work but that getting six months worth will be next to impossible. I will tell the attorney I meet with on Tuesday about this but I'm concerned about it and wanted some advice here. I'm way below the median income for my state even with what my boyfriend gives we are still almost 10k below.

Am I going to have an issue? My boss pretty much indicated it would be impossible to get copies of all the pay stubs.

[helpmeout]

My attorney only wanted the first paystub of the beginning of the 6 month look back, then the first paystub of every month and the 2 in January, which was the end of my 6 months. You may not need all of them as long as you have the first one in the 6 month lookback and the last ones in the last month of the lookback. ADP will have the info. It just will be like pulling teeth to get it from them as they are really slow.

[bobbyquefour]

It really varies. I think I will always keep my paystubs from now on. I don't know why I never did, really. They are important in many ways, not just in bk.

That being said, I find it hard to believe that there is no way that they can come up with that information for you (not calling you out on it, calling THEM out on it)....Any accounting dept, however small, has to keep records and I would think that they would have to be able to at least provide you the information on a certified spread sheet if they are unable to duplicate actual stubs.

[tay666]

It really varies. I think I will always keep my paystubs from now on. I don't know why I never did, really. They are important in many ways, not just in bk.

That being said, I find it hard to believe that there is no way that they can come up with that information for you (not calling you out on it, calling THEM out on it)....Any accounting dept, however small, has to keep records and I would think that they would have to be able to at least provide you the information on a certified spread sheet if they are unable to duplicate actual stubs.

Actually, I can believe it.
My company here in Ohio couldn't do it either.
At least not until last year when they finally hired a firm to handle payroll.
Prior to that, checks (and stubs) were generated in the front office by the owners daughter.
The pay stubs were generated once, then deleted when the next one was generated.
For some reason, their system could only retain one pay stub (the most current) per employee.
All they could do was supply a print out with year-to-date earnings.
As the pay stubs didn't contain that information either.

You should see their file-keeping system.
Cardboard file boxes piled up in an unused conference room. The only labeling on the boxes is the year. Every few years they drag the pile out, and pull out the oldest boxes and throw them in the dumpster.
Their reasoning is that it has worked for them for 50+ years, so why change it.

[mtbc]

According to IRS Publication 583,

If you have employees, you must keep all employment tax records for at least 4 years after the date the tax becomes due or is paid, whichever is later.

I think there's some other requirement that it can't be too hard to retrieve the records.

So, employers who can't easily recover this information, may be sailing a little too close to the wind.

[Jackdog]

According to IRS Publication 583,



I think there's some other requirement that it can't be too hard to retrieve the records.

So, employers who can't easily recover this information, may be sailing a little too close to the wind.

I work for a corporate restaurant that has almost 600 stores across the US. They are huge. But my GM told me good luck getting pay stubs. I don't have any reason to doubt what he says we get along and he's honest. I don't know I'll see what happens tomorrow when we call payroll.

[AngelinaCat]

If you can't get the paystubs (pay advices if you have direct deposit) then I hope you have good bank records and can point to each deposit into your account.

They want the paystubs to see what the deductions are and how much they are for your health insurance, workman's comp., IRS withholding, SS withholding, and all of those good things.

But if you can't provide it, you can't. Income tax returns will help fill in a lot of gaps.

Our BK attorney was very unhappy with me because I could not provide an itemized statement or pay advice, for each unemployment compensation payment I got. It was Direct Deposited, and all I could get from my online account, was a summary. Nothing was split out in detail. She had to be satisfied with that and our bank statements with each UC payment highlighted.

[BCA2009]

Even if they don't have copies of the actual pay stubs, they should be able to recalculate the details and provide the info in a spreadsheet or letter form.

Even with the cardboard box method of accounting, they need all of the data to file the required returns quarterly and yearly.

But I'm not surprised that they don't keep copies of the stubs. The company doesn't need stubs. Why would they want or need individual copies of paystubs. They just open their payroll software and print reports that have all of the same info as is on the stubs.

[BananaCabana]

Even if they don't have copies of the actual pay stubs, they should be able to recalculate the details and provide the info in a spreadsheet or letter form.

Even with the cardboard box method of accounting, they need all of the data to file the required returns quarterly and yearly.

But I'm not surprised that they don't keep copies of the stubs. The company doesn't need stubs. Why would they want or need individual copies of paystubs. They just open their payroll software and print reports that have all of the same info as is on the stubs.

I agree with BCA2009. I work in Accounting and Payroll and I have never worked for a company, big or small, who kept copies of an employee's paystubs. That is the responsibility of the employee. The employer is responsible for keeping the records of what the employee was paid. Most companies can print out a payroll history for you but the priority of that will also depend on the company. Some can print it out and give it to you w/in five minutes while others will make you fill out a request and will get it to you in 10-12 weeks. I guess the real question is what will the court and lawyers accept. Will a perpetual payroll history be acceptable or will you actually need to present the physical copy of a paystub? They are the exact same information just in different form. Honestly, I can not think of one good reason any payroll department couldn't get an employee that information requested unless their system has just not ever been set up to provide it in that particular way. Otherwise, it should be a fairly standard report to print for most companies.