earlier this week a set of headphones was reportedly stolen from my place of employment. a few employees had been laid off at about this time. our manager called a meeting and said that if the item was returned, no questions asked, but if not then he was going to take a portion of each salespersons check. When I opened my check , there was a misc. deduction for the amount that he had said he was going to take. needless to say I am upset and want to know if this is even legal. Thanks. also there are two other employees that are always in the same workspace and have the same acess and hours as the salesmen. Is it discrimination if their checks were not garnished?
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can an employer garnish wages for a stolen item from all employees ?
- Thread Starter leob68
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mightymoose
Moderator
Can he do this? Yes- he did it.
Should he have done it... probably not.
If this is a petty amount you might be best off to leave it be, or to at most discuss your frustration with the powers that be at your work place.
If you really wanted to I suppose you could make a legal issue of it- but in doing so you would burn bridges at your work place.
Should he have done it... probably not.
If this is a petty amount you might be best off to leave it be, or to at most discuss your frustration with the powers that be at your work place.
If you really wanted to I suppose you could make a legal issue of it- but in doing so you would burn bridges at your work place.
Hello mightymoose, Thank you for your reply. Yes it is a small amount, 5 dollars, but considering that I make minimum wage and honestly worked hard for the money, it is a matter of principle. I also am trying to support my wife and two babies on these wages. 5 dollars seems trivial, but it is almost 2 gallons of milk, or 30 jars of babyfood, a 264 count package of baby wipes, etc...plus it sets a standard that these guys can violate the law at will and that it is o.k. to steal (thats how I see it) from others because something was stolen from them. I am willing to discuss the matter with my boss, but would like to know the legalities before I do. As for burning bridges at work, I dont care. As far as I am concerned, by taking money from my check , they have already accused my of stealing, and stolen from my children to punish me for something I didnt do. If I do have LEGAL grounds, I wouldnt have any problem spending the day in small claims court, just for the fact that it would cost them way more in time and effort to deal with it than the 5 dollals is worth. Also Please if could answer about the discrimination issue and the specifics of the wage issue. Thanks
cbg
Super Moderator
No, this is not illegal discrimination.
You are free to file a claim of unpaid wages with the state.
You are free to file a claim of unpaid wages with the state.
mightymoose
Moderator
Your best bet is to speak with your employer and get them to give the five bucks back. You certainly can go the small claims route, and though you would have to pay court fees up front you could ask the court to have the fees reimbursed. That seems like a lot to go through over five dollars... but I certainly do understand your point of view.
Your employer was wrong. You have options. It is totally up to you how you want to proceed.
No, you do not have a discrimination issue.
Your employer was wrong. You have options. It is totally up to you how you want to proceed.
No, you do not have a discrimination issue.
cbg
Super Moderator
Yes, you can take them to small claims court, but I'm not convinced that's the best way for you to go. You can, at no cost to you, file a claim with the state wage and hour division. You CANNOT be fired for filing a wage claim - suing the employer does not carry the same protections.
cbg
Super Moderator
swlswl, would you please check the dates before you post? If a post has not been added to for some months, it's questionable whether the poster will be coming back to look for new additions.
I'm a little bit lenient toward questions being answered even if stale so long as the answers are good. After all, this is a repository of information and the more "good" information we have for users to find, the better off we all are. Is this not true? Depending upon what's written, it could be beneficial for browsers. Follow up questions to stale posts are not helpful, since they won't allow for further dialog.
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