Cal. Lab. Code § 223 : CALIFORNIA LABOR CODE — EMPLOYMENT REGULATION AND SUPERVISION — COMPENSATION — PAYMENT OF WAGES — GENERAL OCCUPATIONS — Payments below scale TEXT PDF Where any statute or contract requires an employer to maintain the designated wage scale, it shall be unlawful to secretly pay a lower wage while purporting to pay the wage designated by statute or by contract. Ca. Lab. Code § 223 Added by Stats. 1937, Ch. 357.