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Summary of differences between federal and state regulations
Federal regulations restrict the types of deductions that can be made from an employee’s wages or salary. Deductions can be made in certain cases, but the legality often depends on the nature and purpose of the deductions, as well as the status of the employee as exempt or non-exempt.
The state of Florida does not address wage deduction issues beyond the federal law for private employers. However, Miami-Dade County has a ordinance on “wage theft,” which makes it unlawful for employers “to fail to pay any portion of wages due to an employee, according to the wage rate applicable to that employee, within a reasonable time from the date on which that employee performed the work for which those wages were compensation.” Penalties for violations may invovle three times the amount unpaid. Although the rule does not mention deductions, the reference to “any portion...of the applicable wage rate” implies that deductions from the agreed-upon wage rate are prohibited.
Government employers are authorized to make wage deductions from employees’ checks as authorized and requested by the employee for such purposes as authorized and requested by the employee. Public employers have sole discretion to approve or disapprove requested deductions.
State
Contact
Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation
Regulations
Florida Statute Title X, Chapter 112 - Employee wage deductions (§112.171)
www.flsenate.gov/laws/statutes/2010/112.171
Federal
Contact
Regulations
For non-exempt employees:
29 CFR Part 531, Wage Payments under The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
For exempt employees:
29 CFR Part 541, Subpart G, Salary Requirements