Payroll
Iris Escamilla
iescamilla@hawthorne.k12.ca.us
(310) 263-3911
Aimee Morris
amorris@hawthorne.k12.ca.us
(310) 263-3909
Priscilla Vizuete
pvizuete@hawthorne.k12.ca.us
(310) 263-3919
Understanding Your Hawthorne School District Paycheck & Pay Stub
A pay stub, or wage statement, is a document employers give their employees every pay period that explains how their paycheck was calculated. Pay stubs are itemized, and are always provided regardless of whether the wages are paid by check or by direct deposit. If you receive a physical check the pay stub is attached. If you have signed up for direct deposit to a bank or credit union a pay stub is delivered to your work location for you to pick up as well.
Interpreting the content of a pay stub can sometime be confusing. These are the key items that pay stubs typically contain. Read on for more details about the Hawthorne School District pay stub.
1. End Date & Description
The End Date signifies the period that is covered in the pay stub. Classified employees are paid twice each month. Payday occurs on the 25th and 10th of any given month.
The wage statement for Monthly Salaried employees will always have an End Date reflecting the last day of the month. A salary is prorated based on the number of months worked - 10, 11 or 12 months. Monthly Salaried employees receive checks twice each month. The first check, issued on the 25th of the month, is the Earned Salary Advance (ESA) which is a portion of the monthly salary that has already been earned in the month. The second check, issued on the 10th of the following month, is the Regular pay which is the total monthly salary minus the ESA. Salaried employees may be entitled to Longevity, which is an agreement to provide additional compensation to an employee based on the years of service in the District. Longevity will appear as a separate line item with the Regular pay.
Hourly employees will reference an End Date that is mid-month (the 15th of the month) for one paycheck, and the end of the month (last day of the month) for the second paycheck. Therefore, hourly employees are paid for 1st -15th of the month and the 16th - last day of the month. Hourly employees earn an hourly wage multiplied by the number of hours they have worked during the period.
2. Rate
Rate refers to the monthly salary (prorated based on the number of months you work; 10, 11 or 12) or the hourly rate of pay.
3. Units
Units refer to the number of work days in a pay period for a monthly salaried employee, or the number of hours worked for an hourly employee.
4. Gross Pay
Gross pay is the total income earned during the pay period. It is the amount before all deductions. Gross pay is calculated by adding up everything in the AMOUNT column in the Earning-Compensation section of the pay stub.
5. Net Pay
Net pay is the amount you take home after all of the deductions and reductions are removed from the gross pay. This is the amount one should see on their paycheck or in their direct deposit account.
6. Taxes
There are two types of withholding taxes that appear on a pay stub: federal (FWT) and state (SWT).
Federal withholding tax (FWT) is based on the amount you earn and it is deducted from your paycheck regularly. Upon employment, you are required to fill out a W-4 form. This will be used as the basis of your federal tax deduction. Exemptions can lower the amount of tax you have to pay. Employees may choose to complete a new Form W-4 anytime their personal or financial situation changes.
State withholding tax (SWT) is similar to federal income tax in most ways, and it is deducted from your gross pay each time you are paid.
7. Medicare
This is another mandatory deduction required by the government. Medicare offers health insurance for retirees and the disabled. All employees contribute a portion of their gross pay, with the employer matching each employee's contribution.
8. Social Security/OASDI
Social security is a government-mandated retirement fund. OASDI (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance Program) is the official name for Social Security in the United States. Every employee is required to pay a portion of his or her gross pay as a contribution to the program. The employer is then required to match the contribution of each worker. Social Security aims to provide a reliable monthly pension to each of its retired members.
9. Health Insurance
These pre-tax deductions cover the employee portion of monthly deductions for health care benefits. They may include:
- Blue Cross PPO
- Anthem HMO
- Kaiser
- Delta Dental
- United Concordia
- MES Vision
10. PERS – CalPERS is the California Public Employees Retirement System
CalPERS retirement benefits are for classified employees. They are funded through contributions paid by employees/members, contracting employers, and the earnings from CalPERS investments.
11. Other Retirement or Alternative Savings Program Deductions
Many private or alternative savings plans exist such as the 457(b) or 403(b).
12. Leave Balance
Some Districts may include a leave balance record on the pay stub to inform employees of remaining paid leaves available. In HSD leave balances can be accessed on our Frontline Absence Management System (formerly known as AESOP).
13. Current Taxable Balances
This usually takes up a significant amount of space on the pay stub as it contains a number of details. The
Current Taxable Balances portion contains the current pay period taxable wages.
14. Year-to-date Taxable Balances
The Year-to-Date portion contains the updated total amount of taxable income. It can be helpful if you would like to see how much money you have earned to date from the beginning of the calendar year.
15. Employee Deductions (in YTD Totals column)
The Year-to-Date portion contains the updated total amount paid to all the required withholdings. It can be helpful if you would like to see how much money has been withheld (for each deduction) from the beginning of the calendar year.
16. Employer Contributions
Employer Contribution is the portion that the Hawthorne School District pays on your behalf for certain benefits which may include:
PERS CON – CalPERS contribution toward your retirement
OASDI CON– Social Security contribution on your behalf
MEDCAR CON – Medicare contribution
SUI – State Unemployment Insurance
WORK COMP – Workers Compensation Insurance
Contribution to provide insurance for any of the following programs:
- Blue Cross PPO
- Anthem HMO
- Kaiser
- Delta Dental
- United Concordia
- MES Vision
17. Important Acronyms and Abbreviations
Below are some of the acronyms and abbreviations that you might come across when interpreting your pay stub.
