Can you charge employees for damages

Employment law is an umbrella term that is used to describe a broad range of legal issues associated with employees, employers, and safety conditions in the workplace. Some employment laws may apply to a case that involves employment discrimination, while others can be used to provide guidance when creating company policies or employee handbooks. Employment law is intended to protect all of those who are a part of the workforce.

This may include:. It is important to remember that employment laws can vary widely by jurisdiction. Because of this, the rights that one state may protect may not be available as a protection under the laws of another state. Additionally, some issues may be governed by both state and federal employment laws, such as pregnancy leave. According to federal employment law, your employer may deduct specific losses from your paycheck.

You may break or lose a piece of equipment, damage some merchandise, or have your cash drawer come up short. Generally speaking, the only exception to this would be that such deductions cannot drop your pay below the federal minimum wage. What this means is that if you only earn minimum wage, your employer cannot charge you for any losses.

As with much of employment law , laws governing whether your employer can charge you for broken or lost equipment may vary from state to state. There are many states that offer considerably greater protections for employees than compared to the federal law. An example of this would be how the state of California considers lost and damaged equipment to be an ordinary cost of doing business. As such, they will only allow a paycheck deduction if the employee was negligent, or acting on purpose.

Because employee responsibility for lost or damaged property can vary from state to state, as well as from job to job, you may want to consult with a local employment law lawyer if you have any questions regarding the subject. To reiterate, wage deduction laws vary from state to state. Generally speaking, employers are prohibited from making wage or payroll deductions that are considered to be illegal, whether under state or federal law.

Some of the most common examples of illegal payroll deductions generally include, but may not be limited to:. Permitted deductions at the state level will vary by statute. Some common examples of subjects that vary at the state level include, but may not be limited to:.

Unlawful deduction of wages is considered to be a type of wage theft. Wage theft refers to the unlawful practice of employers not paying their employees the full amount for the work they have performed. Charging employees for damaged property without explicit proof that the employee damaged the property on purpose is generally considered to be a business expense. As previously mentioned, OSHA guidelines prevent employers from charging employees for safety and protective gear.

Some specific examples of what state laws say about charging employees for damaged property include:. Florida: As there are no state specific laws, federal wage laws are adhered to. Georgia: As there are not state specific laws, federal wage laws are adhered to. Hawaii: Generally speaking, no, Hawaii employers cannot charge employees for damaged property. It may be possible to investigate the incident for serious misconduct.

If employers are concerned about the potential cost they could incur if an employee damages expensive material, they should include specific provisions in the employment agreement. While provisions in the employment agreement do provide some form of protection to employers, they are certainly not bullet proof. For advice on how to manage your workplace with the right policies in place, contact Employsure on We take the complexity out of workplace legislation to help small business employers protect their business and their people.

On this page. Published February 13, last updated November 19, Author: Employsure. Related posts. Mandating Vaccinations in the Workplace. Blog categories. Ask a specialist. Employee Management. Of course, nothing in the statute prevents an employer from disciplining an employee for faulty work, negligence, dishonesty, theft, and the like.

Employers should be sure to train employees on the requirements of their jobs and instruct them that faulty performance and improper conduct will result in discipline. When a loss occurs, rather than making unilateral wage deductions, employers can and should document incidents of poor performance, negligence, or other conduct that result in a loss and discipline accordingly.

Related Attorney Laurie E. Share This Article. Meyer Your employee negligently damages company property, resulting in the company being charged a significant deductible by the insurance company when you submit a claim for the costs of the repair.

Your employee fails to return a company phone that was assigned to her when she leaves the company.