Can My Employer Make Deductions from My Paycheck?

When you are working for an employer in the Palm Beach Gardens area and you receive a regular paycheck from your employer, you may be surprised or even shocked to realize that your employer has deducted certain amounts from your paycheck that you were not expecting. If and when this happens, you may be wondering if these kinds of deductions are lawful, or if you have experienced wage theft or a violation of wage and hour laws. The answer in a Florida workplace will ultimately depend on the deduction amount, and the total amount of the paycheck in relation to hours worked. Our Palm Beach Gardens wage and hour law attorneys can provide more information.

Certain Required Deductions

 If you receive a paycheck in Florida, there are certain deductions that your employer must make in order to be in compliance with federal law. All Florida employers are required to deduct FICA contributions — or deductions required by the Federal Insurance Contributions Act — from your paycheck. These deductions cover Medicare and Social Security. You should also expect that your employer will withhold a certain amount of taxes from your paychecks, as well.

No Specific Florida State Laws Concerning Wage Deductions 

When it comes to other deductions and their legality, there is no specific Florida state law that governs paycheck deductions. It is critical to understand that the legality of additional deductions is governed by state law. To be clear, some states do prohibit employers from making certain types of deductions from employee paychecks, but Florida does not have one of these laws. Accordingly, Florida employers can make a wide range of deductions from employee paychecks without consent from the employee, such as deductions for the following:

• Cost of workplace uniforms;
• Cost of damage to workplace property;
• Cost of equipment the employee requires to perform their work;
• Health care contributions; and
• Retirement contributions.

Federal Minimum Wage Requirement 

Since there is no Florida state law that provides protections against certain wage deductions, an employer’s ability to make wage deductions in Florida is governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). While the FLSA does not prohibit certain deductions (and allows employers to have significant discretion in deciding what to deduct from employee paychecks), the FLSA is clear that deductions cannot result in the employee earning a wage that would fall below the federal minimum wage.

In Florida, the state minimum wage recently increased to $12.00 per hour and is set to increase steadily over time. The federal minimum wage remains only $7.25. Under the FLSA, if an employee’s paycheck — with any of the deductions — results in the employee earning below the federal minimum wage per hour, then one or more of the deductions may be unlawful.

Contact a Palm Beach Gardens Wage and Hour Attorney 

If you have any questions or concerns about paycheck deductions, or if you believe your employer did not pay you according to legal requirements, you should get in touch with an experienced Palm Beach Gardens wage and hour lawyer at Sconzo Law Office to discuss your case. You could have a wage and hour law claim, and our firm is here to help you.

Sources:

dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/legacy/files/FairLaborStandAct.pdf

dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/state#fl