Liability for employee accident at auto dealership

[powellal]

Who is liable for an accident occurred by under the scope of employment? I work for a Dodge Chrysler Jeep Dealership in East Texas. I have once wrecked a customer's vehicle by accident and was made to pay the deductible. I have now had another accident while IN THE SHOP, about to head out on a test drive and caused damaged to a customer's Jeep. The dealership did not claim it on its insurance and had made me sign two accidents reports. Today they claimed I must pay $150/week for 12 weeks to pay back the damages incurred. I refused to sign the paperwork and stated that $100 is all I could afford. They also marked up damages by 20%, making profit from my accident. They then are stated at saying that they did this because "if it stings, you'll remember it". What are my legal rights? I work strictly commission and do good to make 20 hours a week, though being at work for over 40. I also have child support at $150 a week. The dealership regularly threatens to fire employees and my level of stress has increased since being at this location. I have been a mechanic for over 9 years and I am currently in the National Army Guard suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The dealership is about to hire unneeded mechanics, when business is slow. What can I do?

 

[theretoo]

http://www.dealers-insurance.com/GarageLiabilityGarageKeepers.html

the dealership should report it to their insurance company and the damage should be covered under their policy

i would ask an employment law atty in your area about the us dept of labor code 29 C.F.R. § 531.35 for 'free and clear' wages paid to an employee

maybe one of the atty's on this site will chime in with more info

http://www.twc.state.tx.us/ui/lablaw/ll1.pdf

texas labor code states -

Sec. 61.018. DEDUCTION FROM WAGES. An employer may not withhold or divert any part of an employee's wages unless the employer:

(1) is ordered to do so by a court of competent jurisdiction;

(2) is authorized to do so by state or federal law; or

(3) has written authorization from the employee to deduct part of the wages for a lawful purpose.

Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 269, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.

 

[Patricia_Young]

Bottom line, if the customer were to sue, he would sue the dealership, because they're the ones with the deep pockets. Obviously, the employer is not reporting these incidents to their insurance company because either they don't have the requisite insurance or they don't want their rates to go up (although that's what the liability insurance they had better have, is for).

You've been at fault in two accidents in customer vehicles? In how long? You do know that they could fire you for these accidents, right? I haven't had an at-fault accident in nearly 25 YEARS.

Regarding the deduction.

Sec. 61.018. DEDUCTION FROM WAGES. An employer may not withhold or divert any part of an employee's wages unless the employer:
(1) is ordered to do so by a court of competent jurisdiction;
(2) is authorized to do so by state or federal law; or
(3) has written authorization from the employee to deduct part of the wages for a lawful purpose.
Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 269, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.

http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/LA/htm/LA.61.htm

I would also note that since this deduction would be "for the benefit of the employer", that such deduction which you may authorize cannot take you below minimum wage for the workweek nor can it be deducted from any overtime pay. The FLSA requires that minimum wage and overtime pay be received "free and clear" (less taxes and legally required deductions, such as your child support).

 

[powellal]

Wage Deduction

Thank you Patricia and Theretoo for the links and information regarding wage deduction. I question since my hourly wage is more than the minimum wage of $7.25, do I qualify under the "free and clear" standards?

 

[theretoo]

are you saying that you make less than the minimum wage....that would be another issue all together

i think those of us that respond, need to be careful not to pass judgement on the circumstances of anyone who is looking for guidance on this board.

i personally try to look at the situation from the poster's point of view and offer suggestions that i feel may be useful to the poster in their situation. i am not an attorney, but i also understand that bad things can happen to good people, so my position is to try to provide information that is accurate and that may provide other avenues or provide information that may be helpful in a particular situation.

 

[Patricia_Young]

I question since my hourly wage is more than the minimum wage of $7.25, do I qualify under the "free and clear" standards?

Let's say you make $8.00/hr and work 40 hours regular and 1 hour overtime in the workweek. That's $332.00. Minimum wage would be $290 straight-time and overtime is still $12. That's $302. So, the deduction could be only $30.

Does that help?