:eek: Can the Employer Take Deductions from an Employee's Paycheck? i dont mean garnishments and or insurances! i am a trucker and my company has all of a sudden decided they want to charg drivers for anything they see fit! fines for anything!

I can give you a pointer to the federal rules. Arkansas is not my state, so I will defer those rules (if any) to another responder.

http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/whdfs16.htm

We don't have much info as to what is being deducted from your checks except fines & then we don't know what for.

Here is a US DOL fact sheet re wage deductions from paychecks.

http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/whdfs16.htm

DAW - you beat me with the link by 2 min.

It appears Arkansas law is silent on the subject, so federal law would apply.

It appears Arkansas law is silent on the subject, so federal law would apply.

so then i guess the answer to my question is that an employer can deduct for anything it decides to as to fines for whatever it see;s fit? is it just not clear/cutt answer? can an employer deduct from employees paycheck?

No, that's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that, since Arkansas law is silent on this issue, the federal law that has already been provided is what is applicable.

But, until you give us more details about what exactly is being deducted, with or without your authorization, we can't do much more. There IS no "cut-and-dried" answer, as such. Whether a deduction is legal or not depends on what it's for, how much it is, etc. Which you have not shared. Give us some real-life examples.

No, that's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that, since Arkansas law is silent on this issue, the federal law that has already been provided is what is applicable.

But, until you give us more details about what exactly is being deducted, with or without your authorization, we can't do much more. There IS no "cut-and-dried" answer, as such. Whether a deduction is legal or not depends on what it's for, how much it is, etc. Which you have not shared. Give us some real-life examples.

not making tyson check-calls,,,,which my cell phone shows i did complete the call! damages to trailers at shipper/reciever that tyson shag/drivers are doing and not the driver!,,,late deliveries,,,,for which there are not delvery times for our loads as i have asked the recievers and they have said no time!,,,,$500.00 per week per damage and anything more than 500 will be split out over the future weeks! they have just started trying to deduct anything from drivers paycheck they can come up with!

I'm assuming we're talking here about deductions from NET pay (after taxes), correct?

I don't know what a "check-call" is or what a "shag" is, because trucking is not my industry. However, generally speaking "fines" from base pay for failure to complete a task (whether you did or didn't) are not allowed. That's because such deductions are for the benefit of the employer. Same with damages.

Are you paid an hourly rate? Rate per delivery? Paid by the mile?

I'd give the federal Dept. of Labor a call and discuss it with them. It's likely you will be advised to file a claim for unallowable deductions.

Also, lets not assume that all of these deductions are legally the same - they are not.
- Fines as in "give me $5 because I do not like you" are illegal. However it is not the word "fine" that is illegal, it is reducing wages without a legal reason to do so. Details are pretty much everything in a recovery action, and two different actions called "fines" could be legally different based on the actual detail.
- Deductions for damaging company equipment are not illegal, just restricted. This is a "for the benefit of the company" type of deduction which is legal but which cannot take wages below minimum wage. Also, under the federal recovery rules only, the employer does not have to proof beyond a shadow of a doubt who damaged the truck.
- Federal rules on recoveries are very poorly written. I am not saying that I do not like the rules, I am saying that whoever wrote the rules did so a long time ago and the rules are very unclear at times. The examples are often things that tend to be things not likely to occur in the modern world. Worse, the rules tend to not spell out the general rules in a clear method not subject to second guessing.

Regarding the damages to the truck only. If you are not responsible for the damages, while it still may be possible for the employer to legally make the deductions from your check, it may also be possible for you to turn around and sue the employer to get the money back. A small claim court action may indeed succeed. We are talking about two very different sets of laws here with possibly different results.