How long must a California employer retain copies of employee itemized wage statements (or the data needed to reproduce them)?

Explanation

Labor Code §226(a) requires the employer to keep a copy of each itemized wage statement, or the data needed to reconstruct it, for at least three years at the place of employment or a central location in California - the same three years §1174 sets for payroll records. Six months and one year both fall short of the statute, and ten years borrows the retention habit of tax records, which §226 does not impose.