North Carolina Payroll Rules

Frequency of Payments

You must pay your employees on regularly scheduled paydays either daily, weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly.

Bonuses, commissions, or similar wages may be paid as infrequently as once per year, if you notify the employee in advance.

Manner of Payments

You may pay your employees by cash, check, money order, direct deposit, or any legal form of payment.

Payment Upon Separation

If an employee leaves your company for any reason, you must pay them by the next regularly scheduled payday.

Deductions

You may make a deduction from an employee’s paycheck if

• permitted by state or federal law;
• both the employer and employee are aware of the amount and have agreed to it, and if the employee has given prior written consent, which
  • is signed on or before the payday from which the deduction is to be made;
  • indicates the reason for the deduction; and
  • states the dollar amount or percentage that will be deducted;
• the employee does not know the amount of the deduction and has not agreed to it in advance, you must
  • obtain written authorization, which is signed on or before the payday from which the deduction is to be made and indicates the reasons for the deduction; and
  • give written notice of the actual amount deducted and the employee’s right to withdraw consent.

If an employee gives written consent at least seven (7) days prior to the date of the deduction, you may deduct the following:

• cash shortages,
• inventory shortages, or
• loss or damage to property.

Uniforms & Other Required Equipment or Tools

North Carolina does not have any laws about whether you can require an employee to purchase a uniform or equipment necessary for them to do their job.

Pre-Hire Medical, Physical, & Drug Tests

North Carolina does not have any laws about whether you can require employees to pay for pre-hire exams.

Notice of Wage Reduction

If you plan on reducing an employee’s wages, you must give them 24-hours advance notice.

Paystubs

Each pay period, you must give each employee an itemized list of their deductions.

Recordkeeping

For each employee, you must keep the following records for at least three (3) years:

• full name,
• home address,
• birthdate (if under 20),
• occupation or job title,
• time of day and day of week the employee’s workweek begins,
• regular rate of pay,
• total hours worked each day and each workweek,
• total straight-time pay each workweek,
• total overtime pay each workweek,
• total additions to and deductions from each paycheck,
• total gross wages each paycheck,
• date of each payday,
• tip credits,
• costs of meals,
• costs of lodging or other facilities,
• start and end time (if under 18),
• youth employment certificates,
• vacation and sick leave policies,
• policies and procedures relating to promised wages, and
• any other records related to wages or time worked.

Notices

When you hire an employee, you must notify them orally or in writing of their promised wage rate and the day and place of each payday.

You also must notify all employees, in writing or through a posted notice, of your employment practices and policies regarding promised wages.