West Virginia: New-Hire Wage Notice Requirements

Requirements one by one

The hire notice is individualized and written

W. Va. Code § 21-5-9(1)-(2) requires every covered employer to notify each
employee in writing at hiring of the rate of pay and the day, hour, and place
of payment. The Act's coverage reaches persons suffered or permitted to work
for a person, firm, or corporation doing business in West Virginia, while
excluding workers properly classified as independent contractors under W. Va.
Code § 21-5-1(b), (m)-(n).

The statute does not prescribe paper delivery, electronic delivery, a state
form, a signature, or an acknowledgment. It also states no employee-language
or translation rule.

The field list focuses on rate and payment logistics

The required hire fields are the rate of pay and the day, hour, and place of
payment. Section 21-5-9(1) does not separately require the pay basis, multiple
rates, overtime rate, normal hours, employer identity, insurance carrier,
allowances, deductions, classification, or benefits.

W. Va. Code R. §§ 42-5-4.1 to -4.3 separately requires the employer to
establish a workweek, pay period, and payday and notify employees in writing or
through an accessible posting. The employer must also post the Commissioner-
provided abstract of the wage-payment law. Those posting duties do not replace
the individualized written hire notice.

Changes require a full pay period of advance notice

The regulation goes beyond the statute's general command to announce changes
before they occur. Under W. Va. Code R. § 42-5-4.2, the employer must furnish
the affected employee written notice at least one full pay period before
changing the rate of pay, pay period, place or method of payment, time of
payment, or any other employment term.

For this purpose, a pay period is the scheduled number of days for which the
employee is paid. The advance interval therefore depends on the employer's
established payroll cycle rather than a fixed number of calendar days.

Records last five years, but notice copies are not named

W. Va. Code R. § 42-5-5.1 to -5.2 requires payroll and employment records
during employment and for at least five years from the creation of each
record. The written employee record includes the employee's identifying and
job information, regular rate, and hours worked. Neither that rule nor W. Va.
Code § 21-5-9(6) expressly says the employer must preserve the hire or change
notice itself.

The Division can investigate notice violations

W. Va. Code § 21-5-11(a)-(b) authorizes the Commissioner to enforce the Act,
investigate violations, inspect workplaces, subpoena evidence, and examine
witnesses. W. Va. Code R. § 42-5-10.1 to -10.3 permits a current or former
employee alleging any Act or rule violation to request a Division
investigation.

No notice-specific monetary penalty or damages appear in § 21-5-9 or the rule.
W. Va. Code § 21-5-12(a)-(b) addresses claims where wages have not been paid
and should not be treated as automatic damages for a notice-only violation.

What trips people up

Posting does not replace the written hire notice. A posting may announce
the workweek, pay period, payday, or the statutory arrangements after a change
under § 21-5-9(2), but § 21-5-9(1) still calls for written notice to the
employee at hiring.

The regulation controls advance timing for changes. Giving notice merely
before the change may track the statute's words but misses the regulation's
one-full-pay-period lead time and individualized-writing requirement.

The rule has a sunset date. W. Va. Code R. §§ 42-5-1.3 to -1.5 makes the
current rule effective July 1, 2019 and schedules it to terminate July 1, 2029.

Common questions

What must the written hire notice say?

The employee's rate of pay and the day, hour, and place of payment.

May the employer post the hire terms instead?

No. The posting option applies to separate schedule information and certain
later changes; the hire notice itself must be given to the employee in writing.

How early must a pay-rate change be disclosed?

At least one full pay period before the change takes effect, in a written
notice furnished to the affected employee.

Must the employee sign the notice?

No signature, acknowledgment, or receipt requirement appears in the governing
statute or regulation.

Statutes and sources

• W. Va. Code § 21-5-1. Employee, employer, and doing-business coverage
  definitions. Official statute
  (accessed July 22, 2026).
• W. Va. Code § 21-5-9. Written hire notice, change notice, deduction
  statements, posting, and records. Official statute
  (accessed July 22, 2026).
• W. Va. Code §§ 21-5-11 to 21-5-12. Administrative enforcement and
  wage-claim remedies. Official § 21-5-11
  (accessed July 22, 2026).
• W. Va. Code R. tit. 42, ser. 5. Schedule and change notices, five-year
  records, Division investigation, and July 1, 2029 sunset. Official rule
  (accessed July 22, 2026).