Category Archives: Wage & Overtime Pay

Can Employers May Not Force You To Agree to Wage Deductions for Loss

Posted on by Gordon Leech
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In Wisconsin, employers may only make deductions from an employee’s pay
with written permission from the employee obtained before any loss
occurs. The law is found at Wisconsin Statutes section 103.455. If you
refuse to sign such a document, it is unlawful to terminate you for your
refusal. If you are not responsible for the loss due to negligence,
carelessness or willful and intentional conduct, which it seems is
apparent from your description, then any deduction by the employer is
quite burdensome on employees and probably unlawful. There are penalties
for making unlawful deductions under the law equal to twice the amount
of the deduction. Any written document or agreement in violation of this
law is void, which means it is unenforceable and could not negate the
employer’s liability for such a violation. An employee is also protected
from retaliation for bringing a claim against an employer that violates
this law.

Tough Times Has Employers Abusing Wage & Overtime Pay Rights, According to Recent Report

Posted on by Gordon Leech
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In a July 2009 report, Confronting the Gloves-Off Economy, Americas’ Broken Labor Standards and How to Fix Them, published by the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, the Center for Economic Policy Research, The Center on Wisconsin Strategy, and the National Employment Law Project, the authors talk about how employees are suffering wage, overtime pay and other workplace violations due to the tough economic times and requirements imposed by employers. The report is based on a larger work, The Gloves-Off Economy: Labor Standards at the Bottom of America’s Labor Market. According to this report, workers are facting an increasingly unfair fight in America for legal wages. The report discusses the problems with the labor laws, how they don’t cover everyone equally, union issues, day laborors, immigrant labor, law-wage job issues, rehabilitation of offenders and jobs, and where the country may need to go with a “living wage.” The report is available at www.nelp.org.