New York Labor and Employment Law Report
NYSDOL Publishes Draft Rules Regarding Wage Deductions Under Labor Law Section 193
May 15, 2013
By: Andrew D. Bobrek
The New York State Department of Labor (“NYSDOL”) quietly published draft rules on its website regarding employee wage deductions under Section 193 of the New York Labor Law. The rules will be open for public comment until July 6, 2013.
The draft rules cover a number of deduction-related issues. For example, the rules specify what is required for employers to obtain sufficient “authorization” from employees for otherwise permissible wage deductions. Among other things, employees must be provided with written notice of “all terms and conditions” of the deduction, the benefit(s) of the deduction, and the details of the manner in which the deduction will be made.
The rules also illustrate what types of deductions may be allowed under Section 193’s “catch-all” provision, permitting “similar payments for the benefit of the employee.” New York employers will recall that, in recent years, NYSDOL has narrowly interpreted this provision to exclude many common types of deductions favored by employers and employees alike. The draft rules suggest that NYSDOL will be closely scrutinizing wage deductions for such “similar payments” and that this provision will still be narrowly interpreted by state regulators.
Notably, the rules also include an enumerated list of illegal wage deductions, including deductions for “employee purchases of . . . attire required for work,” “unauthorized expenses,” and “political action committee” contributions. Several of these prohibitions are consistent with recent NYSDOL interpretation of Section 193, but the blanket ban on political action committee contributions would contradict recent opinion letters indicating that such deductions would be lawful if permitted by federal election law.
Finally, the draft rules specify detailed procedures and requirements that employers must follow in order to lawfully deduct for wage overpayments and for wage or salary advances now permitted under Section 193. An employer’s failure to follow these provisions will create a presumption that the deduction in question was illegal.
To reiterate, these are only draft rules which NYSDOL has proposed and are not yet in effect. We will be reporting further during the rule-making process and public comment period. We encourage you to check back for updates.
