Is waiting time penalty automatic for employer payment of wages due to employee?

No – waiting time penalty is not automatic. Public policy in California has long favored the full and prompt payment of wages due an employee.Assessment of the penalty is not automatic however, as a “good faith dispute” that any wages are due will prevent imposition of the penalty.

 To ensure that employers comply with the laws governing the payment of wages when an employment relationship ends, the Legislature enacted Labor Code Section 203 which provides for the assessment of a penalty against the employer when there is a willful failure to pay wages due the employee at conclusion of the employment relationship.

Assessment of the waiting time penalty does not require that the employer intended the action or anything blameworthy, but rather that the employer knows what he is doing, that the action occurred and is within the employer’s control, and that the employer fails to perform a required act.

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