Employer forcing signature for wage withholdings

[picd92]

I work in Arizona and my ex employer forced me and several other employees to sign 2 contracts which gave him consent to deduct commissions from our pay which totalled out to a 15% PAY WITHHOLDING. If we did not sign these authorization forms we were told we would be terminated.The running tally of these deductions from my pay alone is over 10,000 dollars.I had been employed by the company for over 3 months before these contracts were presented.Also 5% of the withholdings were after Tax deductions meaning I paid taxes on the companies profit. This doesn't seem legal to me. Any advice would be helpfull.

[cbg]

What were these deductions supposed to be for?

[picd92]

the first deduction of 10% was supposed to cover potential customer chargebacks on their credit cards. The 5% was supposedly being used to help pay for the companies customer service department

[picd92]

If you know the answer please let me know

[Pattymd]

Be patient pic. This forum is staffed by volunteers and it is the weekend after all. I know that cbg will get back to you; she's very conscientious.

[cbg]

Sorry, I didn't see your response to my question until now.

Patty actually knows more about wage and hour issues than I do, but as far as I know this is NOT legal.

I have two pieces of advice: 1, show the contracts to a local attorney 2.) contact your state DOL.

Between the two, they should be able to provide you with your options.

[Pattymd]

I agree. An attorney needs to review the agreement/contract. One point of clarification, though. Is your GROSS pay being reduced, or is your gross pay remaining the same and a deduction from NET pay being made? The answer may make a difference.

[picd92]

10% is a straight gross deduction before taxes, which is around $9160.00. 5% is an after tax deduction which means I am paying the taxes on over $4500.00 of pay I never recieved. Totall running tally is around $ 13,700 in lost pay.

[Pattymd]

The gross pay is determined by your bonus agreement; the state DOL will not address that. The agreement would have to be reviewed by an attorney for advice.

Re the deduction from net pay, generally speaking, the law requires that you authorize the deduction before it is made. However there is an exception for amounts that, are in good faith, are in dispute. This exception may be what the employer is thinking. See here:
http://www.azleg.state.az.us/FormatD...23&DocType=ARS

You can phone your nearest state DOL office to inquire further.