Meaning

The Pay Stub Meaning: A Guide on Everything You Should Know

Payday is always a great day. Your hard work is rewarded with that coveted paycheck. 

Then you open and see it might not be quite as much as you hoped or anticipated. Where has all your money gone?

You pull out your pay stub to take a look. Now to understand the pay stub meaning of all those deductions. 

If you have ever found yourself in this situation, read on to learn about the meaning of all those boxes and numbers on your pay stub. 

What Is A Pay Stub?

Let’s start with the most obvious part of the equation and that is what is a pay stub? Maybe you have never bothered to take a closer look at that slip of paper, instead concentrating on the actual check.

It’s time to take a closer look. The pay stub, also called a paycheck stub or pay slip, is the piece of paper that comes with your check. It outlines what your pay is and what is being subtracted from your pay in the form of deductions. 

Most pay stubs cover the pay period. They will also show the year-to-date deductions. 

What Those Payslip Terms Mean

Many employers will choose to use a computer program that creates a document with all the pay stub information.

If you are an employer looking for an easier way to provide payday information to your employees. Check out PayStubs.net 

Let’s take a closer look at the terms and information found on your pay stub. 

Employee And Employer Information

This information covers the basics. 

The employee will have their name, social security number, and address. Many companies have employee ID numbers. This might also be included.

The employer information will include the company name, address, and possible contact information for the human resources department. 

Pay Period

The pay period is a set of dates. It has a start date that indicates the first day you are getting paid in that check. The end date is the last date you are getting paid in the check. 

Every pay period is different depending on how often your company does payroll. It’s common to do bi-weekly pay. 

Gross Pay

Your gross pay is the amount you actually earned. For some people, that is a salary and is the same for each pay period. If you work hourly, then it is the number of hours you worked multiplied by your hourly pay rate.

The gross pay has no deductions subtracted yet, so it is not the amount you actually get when you cash your check.

Net Pay

The net pay is the amount you will get when you cash your check. It is your gross pay with all of your deductions subtracted.  

Tax Withholdings

Tax withholdings are the amount subtracted from your check to pay your taxes. When you get hired, you decide how many dependents you are claiming. This tells the employer how much to deduct based on your tax bracket.

Taxes will be deducted for the federal government and likely state government.  Taxes might also need to be paid for the city in which you work or reside. 

Employee Contributions

Your company might offer a 401K plan for retirement savings. Or you might be part of a government or union pension plan. 

Some employees choose to make charitable donations through their paycheck. 

These are other reasons there might be additional deductions made on top of the taxes already subtracted. 

Other Deductions

Another reason for deductions might be if you have a court-ordered garnishment. The employer is required to abide by the court order and subtract the required amount from your check. 

Many states require you to pay child support directly from your paycheck as well. 

Attendance

Some businesses or unions allow a set amount of vacation and sick time to their employees. Often, your pay stub will show how much vacation/sick time you have used and how much is still available. 

Understanding Your Pay Stub Meaning

It’s your money and you should know where it’s going.

Next time you get paid, pull out that pay stub and take a closer look. Make sure you know the pay stub meaning for all the reasons your employer is deducting from your earnings. 

For more business and writing information, visit our blog today and see what you can learn.

Workers’ Compensation Meaning: A Guide With Everything to Know

Over 140,000,000 employees are covered by their employer’s worker’s compensation plans. These plans are available for almost 94% of all people currently employed in the United States. Unless you have been injured on the job, you may not understand worker’s compensation meaning or how it works to protect millions of people in the workplace.

If you’re uncertain about worker’s comp laws, read on. This guide to worker’s compensation will help you understand what it means, what it covers, and how it can benefit you whether you are hurt on the job or the owner of the company.

Worker’s Compensation Meaning

Worker’s compensation insurance is purchased by employers to cover employees who become injured on the job. The insurance bears the liability for the employee’s medical costs similar to the way an automobile insurance policy covers the owner of a car after an accident. 

Worker’s compensation protects the employee by paying medical bills that arise from a workplace injury. Worker’s compensation will pay surviving family members if the injury results in a fatality. This is important because an employee’s private insurance will not pay for any bills it considers work-related.

Worker’s compensation also protects the employer from being personally sued for the costs of the injury. An employer is protected from work-related injury lawsuits unless:

• the employer’s worker’s compensation insurance isn’t enough to pay for the injury
• The employer can be proven to have deliberately caused the injury through willful negligence
• The employer’s actions directly caused the injury

Employers can purchase the policy from a third-party agency or fund the insurance themselves, becoming “self-insured.” 

Worker’s Compensation Laws

Worker’s comp benefits will vary from state to state. Typically, three benefits are required by these worker’s compensation laws: 

Lost Wages

Worker’s compensation will ensure the employee continues to draw a paycheck while off injured. This benefit may cover wages lost from a secondary job as well. The employee will be considered for short-term disability, meaning they will return to work within a reasonable amount of time, or long-term disability, meaning that they will be off of work for a longer time.

Medical Bills

Worker’s compensation will cover all medical bills incurred because of the workplace injury. This includes doctor and emergency room visits, prescriptions, rehabilitation, physical therapy, and specialized equipment.

Disability

The employee may qualify for a lump sum of money if the injury is expected to be debilitating. The amount of money received will be directly related to how much the injury is expected to affect the employee in the future.

OSHA

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) is a set of standards set in place to protect workers. Employers are obligated to report the injury on an OSHA form. If the accident is found to be caused by an OSHA violation, the employer could be held accountable and fined.

Federal Laws

Each state has guidelines for worker’s compensation, meaning that the laws will be different depending on where the business is located. There are some laws, however, that are federally governed. These are very specific for the occupation of the workers.

Some of these federally mandated worker’s compensation occupations include those employees working in the nuclear weapons industry, railroad workers, and civilian federal employees.

Who Needs Worker’s Compensation Insurance?

Employers will be required to have worker’s compensation insurance based on the number of people employed. In some states, it is needed for three or more employees. Other states may require it for only one employee.

Some industries are considered high risk. These industries will most likely require worker’s compensation insurance no matter how many people are employed at the company. Some of these high-risk professions include:

• Construction
• Hospital employees
• Police work
• Truck drivers

The costs of worker’s compensation insurance will depend on the size of the company and how much the company spends on its annual payroll. Business owners consider worker’s compensation a business expense, and the price paid for the premiums can be tax write-offs.

For most employers, the benefits and protections of buying worker’s compensation insurance far outweigh the costs.

Filing a Worker’s Compensation Claim

If an employee is injured on the job, a worker’s compensation claim must be filed. The supervisor on duty at the time of the incident is responsible for gathering all of the information to file a new claim for the injury. 

It’s important to notify the supervisor immediately, as any delays in reporting the incident may cause the claim to be denied. If possible, take pictures or find a witness to the incident to support the claim.

An employee should always seek medical attention as soon as possible after the injury. Putting off a doctor’s visit may end up in a denial of the claim. Because some injuries take a while to show up, it’s advisable to go to the doctor whether the employee complains of pain or not.

Both the employer and the employee should keep written documentation of all communications between the supervisor, the worker’s comp representative, and the employee. This ensures sure all parties are getting the information needed to move forward on the claim.

Worker’s compensation insurance can be tough to navigate as an injured worker. These companies will try to find ways to keep from paying the claims. Many people choose to hire an attorney to handle their worker’s compensation claims. 

Worker’s Compensation Fraud

Both employers and employees can be guilty of worker’s compensation fraud. 

Employers can commit fraud by downgrading the hazards faced by employees to pay less in insurance premiums, not purchasing insurance, or filling out fake safety inspections.

Employees commit fraud by reporting off-duty injuries they experienced, reporting a fake injury, claiming an injury is worse than it is and working a second job while injured.

Fraud is taken very seriously for cases involving worker’s compensation, meaning that if someone is caught they may be fined and can even serve jail time. Some companies will hire a private investigator to follow an employee suspected of fraud.

Now that you understand how worker’s compensation works, check out some of our other posts for more helpful information and guides.