What is Your Boss STEELING From You?
With the holidays upon us the end of the year is fast approaching and it will be tax time before you know it. If you are an independent contractor you will want to use every deduction you can find, but what about employees? While your employer has the right to deduct such things as taxes and social security from your paycheck, many employers try to deduct other monies to cover their own cost calling them mandatory fees for employees. Below we have deciphered some of the most common ILLEGAL DEDUCTIONS made by companies from their employee’s paychecks.
Don’t let your company pass on their expenses to you!
Lawful Deductions
Your employer may lawfully withhold monies from your pay only for the following reasons:
1. They may withhold amounts required by State or Federal Government such as income taxes.
2. The company may deduct monies approved in writing by the employee before hand to cover insurance, retirement contributions, or payback of previous draw on wages. These must be in writing for the exact dates and amounts, and there are additional guidelines on how much they can deduct.
3. Deductions may be made to cover health insurance, welfare or pension contributions when it is included in a collective bargaining agreement, as in the case of union members.
UNLAWFUL Deductions
It is not legal for your employer to withhold money for any of the following:
1. Gratuities paid by patrons. Other than tip pooling, where there is a well explained companywide policy for the sharing of tips where direct table service is provided the company has no lawful right to collect, take or withdraw gratuities from you wages. Gratuities left for the employee are just that and may not be absorbed by the company.
2. Should your employer, for any reason require a photograph of you as employee or applicant they must pay for those photographs to be taken.
3. If for any reason your employer requires an insurance policy or bond for your employment they must pay the fees involved and not pass that cost on to you.
4. This one is hotly contested on just what constitutes a uniform, but the law stands that if you are required to wear a uniform, the company must pay for that uniform. In the case of some employees this may be quite expensive.
5. Business expenses incurred by an employee and not an independent contractor MUST be paid by the employer. The employee is entitled to reimbursement for ALL monies paid out as a requirement to fulfill their job duties. This can include anything from meals for clients, gas and mileage for business travel, phone bills for work calls and so on. Because employees are not given business deductions as independent contractors are these expenses must be paid by the company.
6. If you are required to have a medical or physical examination to get or keep your job it must be paid for by the company who has required it. This includes drug or TB testing; your company can not deduct this cost from current or future wages.
If you have had an employer make deductions like these, whether large or small it could be a sign of a larger problem. United Employees Law Group Specializes in a whole picture approach that helps to weed out all the errors made in your pay and help you collect the full amount owed. Many of these cases are companywide and may be cause for a class action suit as well.
You only have a limited amount of time to file your claim for past wages so call today for FREE.
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