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A08465 Summary:

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A08465 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         8465--A
                                                                Cal. No. 295
 
                               2011-2012 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                      June 17, 2011
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  MORELLE,  WRIGHT,  LUPARDO  -- read once and
          referred to the Committee on Labor -- advanced  to  a  third  reading,
          amended  and  ordered  reprinted,  retaining its place on the order of
          third reading
 

        AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to permitted deductions  from
          wages; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration
          thereof
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 193 of the labor law, as added  by
     2  chapter 548 of the laws of 1966, is amended to read as follows:
     3    1. No employer shall make any deduction from the wages of an employee,
     4  except deductions which:
     5    a.  are  made in accordance with the provisions of any law or any rule
     6  or regulation issued by any governmental  agency  including  regulations
     7  promulgated under paragraph c and paragraph d of this subdivision; or
     8    b. are expressly authorized in writing by the employee and are for the

     9  benefit  of  the employee[;], provided that such authorization is volun-
    10  tary and only given following receipt by the employee of written  notice
    11  of  all  terms and conditions of the payment and/or its benefits and the
    12  details of the manner in which deductions will be made.  Whenever  there
    13  is  a  substantial  change  in  the  terms or conditions of the payment,
    14  including but not limited to, any change in the amount of the deduction,
    15  or a substantial change in the benefits of the deduction or the  details
    16  in  the manner in which deductions shall be made, the employer shall, as
    17  soon as practicable, but in each case before any increased deduction  is
    18  made  on  the employee's behalf, notify the employee prior to the imple-

    19  mentation of the change.  Such authorization shall be kept  on  file  on
    20  the  employer's  premises  for  the  period during which the employee is
    21  employed by the employer and for six years after such  employment  ends.
    22  Notwithstanding  the  foregoing,  employee  authorization for deductions
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13171-02-2
        A. 8465--A                          2
 
     1  under this section may also be provided to the employer pursuant to  the
     2  terms  of  a collective bargaining agreement. Such authorized deductions
     3  shall be limited to payments for:

     4    (i) insurance premiums[,] and prepaid legal plans;
     5    (ii) pension or health and welfare benefits[,];
     6    (iii) contributions to a bona fide charitable [organizations, payments
     7  for] organization;
     8    (iv)  purchases  made  at  events  sponsored by a bona fide charitable
     9  organization affiliated with the employer where at least twenty  percent
    10  of  the  profits  from  such  event are being contributed to a bona fide
    11  charitable organization;
    12    (v) United States bonds[, payments for];
    13    (vi) dues or assessments to a labor organization[,];

    14    (vii) discounted parking or discounted  passes,  tokens,  fare  cards,
    15  vouchers, or other items that entitle the employee to use mass transit;
    16    (viii) fitness center, health club, and/or gym membership dues;
    17    (ix)  cafeteria  and  vending machine purchases made at the employer's
    18  place of business and purchases made  at  gift  shops  operated  by  the
    19  employer, where the employer is a hospital, college, or university;
    20    (x) pharmacy purchases made at the employer's place of business;
    21    (xi)  tuition, room, board, and fees for pre-school, nursery, primary,
    22  secondary, and/or post-secondary educational institutions;
    23    (xii) day care, before-school and after-school care expenses;

    24    (xiii) payments for housing provided at no more than market  rates  by
    25  non-profit hospitals or affiliates thereof; and
    26    (xiv) similar payments for the benefit of the employee.
    27    c. are related to recovery of an overpayment of wages where such over-
    28  payment  is due to a mathematical or other clerical error by the employ-
    29  er. In making such recoveries, the  employer  shall  comply  with  regu-
    30  lations   promulgated  by  the  commissioner  for  this  purpose,  which
    31  regulations shall include, but not be limited to, provisions  governing:
    32  the  size  of  overpayments  that  may  be  covered by this section; the
    33  timing, frequency, duration, and method of such recovery; limitations on

    34  the periodic amount of such  recovery;  a  requirement  that  notice  be
    35  provided  to  the employee prior to the commencement of such recovery; a
    36  requirement that the employer implement a procedure  for  disputing  the
    37  amount  of  such  overpayment  or  seeking to delay commencement of such
    38  recovery; the terms and content of such a procedure  and  a  requirement
    39  that notice of the procedure for disputing the overpayment or seeking to
    40  delay commencement of such recovery be provided to the employee prior to
    41  the commencement of such recovery.
    42    d.  repayment  of  advances of salary or wages made by the employer to
    43  the employee. Deductions to cover  such  repayments  shall  be  made  in

    44  accordance  with  regulations  promulgated  by the commissioner for this
    45  purpose, which  regulations  shall  include,  but  not  be  limited  to,
    46  provisions  governing:  the  timing,  frequency, duration, and method of
    47  such repayment; limitations on the periodic amount of such repayment;  a
    48  requirement  that  notice  be  provided  to  the  employee  prior to the
    49  commencement of such repayment; a requirement that the  employer  imple-
    50  ment  a  procedure for disputing the amount of such repayment or seeking
    51  to delay commencement of such repayment; the terms and content of such a
    52  procedure and a requirement that notice of the procedure  for  disputing
    53  the  repayment  or  seeking  to  delay commencement of such repayment be

    54  provided to the employee at the time the loan is made.
    55    § 2. Subdivisions 2 and 3 of section 193 of the labor law, subdivision
    56  2 as added and subdivision 3 as renumbered by chapter 160 of the laws of
        A. 8465--A                          3
 
     1  1974 and subdivision 3 as added by chapter 548 of the laws of 1966,  are
     2  amended to read as follows:
     3    2.  Deductions  made in conjunction with an employer sponsored pre-tax
     4  contribution plan approved by the IRS or other local  taxing  authority,
     5  including  those  falling within one or more of the categories set forth
     6  in paragraph b of subdivision one of this section, shall  be  considered
     7  to  have  been made in accordance with paragraph a of subdivision one of
     8  this section.

     9    3. a. No employer shall make any charge against wages, or  require  an
    10  employee  to make any payment by separate transaction unless such charge
    11  or payment is permitted as a deduction from wages under  the  provisions
    12  of subdivision one of this section or is permitted or required under any
    13  provision of a current collective bargaining agreement.
    14    b.  Notwithstanding  the  existence  of employee authorization to make
    15  deductions in accordance with subparagraphs (iv), (ix), and (x) of para-
    16  graph b of subdivision one of this section and deductions determined  by
    17  the  commissioner  to  be  similar to such deductions in accordance with
    18  subparagraph (xiv) of paragraph b of subdivision one  of  this  section,
    19  the  total aggregate amount of such deductions for each pay period shall

    20  be subject to the following limitations: (i) such aggregate amount shall
    21  not exceed a maximum aggregate limit established  by  the  employer  for
    22  each  pay  period; (ii) such aggregate amount shall not exceed a maximum
    23  aggregate limit established by the employee, which limit may be for  any
    24  amount  (in  ten dollar increments) up to the maximum amount established
    25  by the employer under subparagraph (i)  of  this  paragraph;  (iii)  the
    26  employer  shall  not  permit  any  purchases  within these categories of
    27  deduction by the employee that exceed the aggregate limit established by
    28  the employee or, if no limit has been set by the employee, the limit set
    29  by the employer; (iv) the employee shall have access  within  the  work-

    30  place  to  current account information detailing individual expenditures
    31  within these categories of deduction and a running total of  the  amount
    32  that will be deducted from the employee's pay during the next applicable
    33  pay  period.   Information shall be available in printed form or capable
    34  of being printed should the  employee  wish  to  obtain  a  listing.  No
    35  employee  may be charged any fee, directly or indirectly, for access to,
    36  or printing of, such account information.
    37    c. With the exception of wage deductions required or authorized  in  a
    38  current existing collective bargaining agreement, an employee's authori-
    39  zation  for any and all wage deductions may be revoked in writing at any

    40  time. The employer must cease the wage deduction for which the  employee
    41  has  revoked authorization as soon as practicable, and, in no event more
    42  than four pay periods or eight weeks after the  authorization  has  been
    43  withdrawn, whichever is sooner.
    44    [3.] 4. Nothing in this section shall justify noncompliance with arti-
    45  cle three-A of the personal property law relating to assignment of earn-
    46  ings, [nor] with section two hundred twenty-one of this chapter relating
    47  to  company  stores  or with any other law applicable to deductions from
    48  wages.
    49    § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth  day  after  it  shall
    50  have  become a law and shall expire and be deemed repealed 3 years after
    51  such effective date.