(a) Any employer, or other person or entity, who may be liable for a violation of any provision of this code shall be precluded from introducing as evidence, in an administrative proceeding contesting a citation or writ proceeding under Section 558 or 1197.1, books, documents, or records, as specified in subdivision (b), that are not provided pursuant to a duly served written request by the Labor Commissioner under this section within the time the Labor Commissioner requests those books, documents, or records be produced, pursuant to either of the following:
(1) When the Labor Commissioner provides for no less than 15 days to respond, subject to the exceptions under subdivision (c), (d), (e), or (g).
(2) When the Labor Commissioner provides for less than 15 days to respond, subject to the exceptions under subdivision (c) or (e), if the Labor Commissioner, in his or her discretion, determines that circumstances exist that make it necessary to require a shorter period of production for the Labor Commissioner to conduct a complete investigation. In this instance, a statement indicating that determination of necessity shall be included with the written request from the Labor Commissioner.
(b) The books, documents, or records to which this section applies are payroll, time, and employment records that are required to be maintained at the place of employment or at a central location within the state by the employer, including, but not limited to, under Sections 226, 247.5, 1174, 2052, and 2673, and Section 6 or 7 (“Records”) of any order of the Industrial Welfare Commission.
(c) Subdivision (a) shall not apply in the event that the person or entity subject to the written request by the Labor Commissioner for the production of books, documents, or records opposes such a request in court, prior to the issuance of any citation under Section 558 or 1197.1, and a court determines that the books, documents, or records are not required to be produced.
(d) Paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) shall not apply to the failure to produce any books, documents, or records within the time requested by the Labor Commissioner if such failure is due to an inadvertent error, provided that such error is corrected and the books, documents, or records are produced to the Labor Commissioner no later than 20 days from the date originally requested. For purposes of this section, “inadvertent error” means any clerical mistake causing an unintended delay in production of the requested books, documents, or records.
(e) The Labor Commissioner shall take into consideration a reasonable request from the person or entity subject to subdivision (a) for an extension on the time for production of books, documents, or records. The commissioner shall determine the reasonableness of the request and may consider, among other things, the location of the books, documents, or records and the volume of production. The Labor Commissioner, in his or her discretion, may admit and consider books, documents, or records that are produced beyond the time limits provided for in this section upon a finding that both of the following conditions are satisfied:
(1) The person or entity cooperated with the underlying investigation and substantially complied with the request within the time limit prescribed.
(2) The person or entity made good faith efforts to comply with the request, including discovery of the late-produced books, documents, or records.
(f) Service of a written request for books, documents, or records on a corporation or limited liability company shall be in the same manner as provided for service of a summons as described in Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 413.10) of Title 5 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(g) For purposes of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) and notwithstanding subdivision (e), a person or entity that provides a timely good faith response to the Labor Commissioner that additional time is needed to gather requested books, documents, or records, shall be provided an automatic extension of 15 days.
(Added by Stats. 2017, Ch. 28, Sec. 11. (SB 96) Effective June 27, 2017.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018