Are You Being Cheated Out of Your Pay? Exposing the $3.2 Billion Wage Theft

[00:00:00] Welcome back folks. This is episode 45, New York deductions we're going to get into tonight.

[00:00:08] And I am excited, but before we get into that, how you doing Walt?

[00:00:12] I'm good. I'm excited. My daughters are on a little women streak.

[00:00:17] Oh, I meant to bring that up. Oh, they have a streak. They got a win streak.

[00:00:22] Yeah. Cool. Wait a minute. Is Tua still the quarterback?

[00:00:25] Yeah. He came back and they started women. So he's been playing pretty good.

[00:00:29] But look, we play in Green Bay on Thursday, Thanksgiving. It's a cold weather game.

[00:00:34] And that's been his downfall. Yeah. He hasn't wanna, I don't think he's won a cold weather game yet.

[00:00:39] What college did he go to? Alabama.

[00:00:42] Nah, they get coldish there, no?

[00:00:45] It's on weather, but not like green, not green Bay.

[00:00:47] Yeah, no, not green Bay. That's for sure. That's true.

[00:00:50] So we're gonna see. So that'll be a good game to watch on Thanksgiving. It's on Thanksgiving day?

[00:00:55] Yep. Thanksgiving day.

[00:00:56] No doubt. No doubt. Hopefully I get to peeve that.

[00:00:59] Yeah, man. So what about you? Yeah. What's going on?

[00:01:02] Well, one, they released Daniel Jones. Thank the Lord.

[00:01:10] Giant fans has spoken. And honestly, I thought they benched him. So I didn't actually look up.

[00:01:16] I didn't fact check. Right. They did release him?

[00:01:19] They did release him. He's now a free agent. He cleared waivers.

[00:01:23] Oh, because if somebody would have picked him up, they would have to pay his contract.

[00:01:27] Oh, they're up there right now. I'm not saying that you released them.

[00:01:30] Oh no.

[00:01:30] I think people are really, it's been all over ESPN and the different sports networks and stuff like that.

[00:01:35] People have been really dragging the organization, man, the Giants organization.

[00:01:40] Really?

[00:01:40] Yeah. They're saying how they pay for him and they let Saquon walk.

[00:01:45] But see, is it, I was just so, I don't know, but wasn't it in two different years? Wasn't it,

[00:01:49] didn't they sign Daniel Jones the year before Saquon came up for free agency?

[00:01:53] I think they were supposed to both side of them like in the same year. And then...

[00:02:01] And then they went for Daniel Jones instead of Saquon in the same year?

[00:02:04] Well, I think you're right. It might have been a year apart or so.

[00:02:08] Because I'll give them a little leeway. If it was a year apart, they had no, I don't know, man.

[00:02:13] Look, one of...

[00:02:14] But look, you knew that you were going to have to do it either way. So you knew it was coming down the pipeline.

[00:02:22] I wouldn't have signed Daniel Jones either. But any who, that happened with the Giants. And then

[00:02:27] DeVito got smashed this past weekend.

[00:02:30] Yeah, bro.

[00:02:31] You know, I mean, look, maybe they going for that first pick. What did catch my eye

[00:02:37] are some breaking news. I don't know if you heard about it yet. I don't know how breaking this is,

[00:02:41] but Drake filed a lawsuit. Did you see that?

[00:02:44] It's not going to be breaking news when this episode airs, but it's still talk worthy.

[00:02:50] Really? Really, dude? I'm like, man.

[00:02:52] That does not help your credibility on any street, any boardroom or anything. Maybe in a lawyer's

[00:02:58] boardroom, but...

[00:02:59] I'm like, for real, for you to say that, I'm going to sue because you guys are really trying to put his

[00:03:03] music over mine.

[00:03:06] You got bots involved. Yeah, doesn't everybody do that? Isn't that how everybody gets their

[00:03:11] followers and their streams up and all the things up?

[00:03:15] Drake can't talk because he got, he used, I think he sampled Tupac's voice.

[00:03:19] He used AI to add Tupac to one of his songs that he did to this.

[00:03:22] Are you serious?

[00:03:23] Yeah.

[00:03:25] He did it.

[00:03:26] Come on.

[00:03:27] Yeah.

[00:03:28] Even if he didn't do, dude, what is you crying? Come on. And then, you know what? It may just be

[00:03:35] relevancy again because guess what? He became irrelevant. And Drake can't even do that. Like,

[00:03:41] people were still his Drake fan after.

[00:03:44] He was still rock with Vogueira.

[00:03:45] Mm-hmm .

[00:03:46] That's what I'm saying. People still rock with him. So why? I don't know. He must have noticed some

[00:03:51] disrespect to them.

[00:03:52] I don't know, bro.

[00:03:54] He can't move the same in the, out there. You know what I mean?

[00:03:57] I don't know. It's about to, bro.

[00:03:58] Because why would you do this? What it possessed you to do? But any who, I just, that was like,

[00:04:04] I just caught out and I found it by accident. I'm out. I'm doing my research and I was,

[00:04:09] it popped up. I was like, Drake did what?

[00:04:11] Oh, oh, oh.

[00:04:12] Oh my goodness.

[00:04:13] Yeah, bro.

[00:04:14] So, uh, yeah. Any who, let's go ahead and get into pay news, man, before we get into the,

[00:04:19] to the meat and potatoes.

[00:04:21] All right. Let's do it.

[00:04:22] All right. So I have an article from levyratner.com and it's talking about the,

[00:04:29] the reality of employers cheating employees out of proper wages in New York.

[00:04:36] It's a very interest, interesting, um, article. I suggest that you read it or we will have the link

[00:04:42] in the show notes. No doubt.

[00:04:45] The article highlights the prevalence of wage theft in New York that affects over 2 million workers

[00:04:53] annually. And with the losses, I think they said they get totals in the billions, like 3 point

[00:04:58] something, 3.2 billion. Wow.

[00:05:02] And common forms of this wage theft include unpaid overtime, minimum, minimum wage violations, and

[00:05:09] the, our topic today, illegal deductions. The New York way earth. Yeah. The New York wage death

[00:05:16] prevention act WTPA enforces measures like detailed wage statements, record keeping requirements and

[00:05:24] penalties for violations to deter such practices. But unfortunately it still goes on based on the stats

[00:05:31] that says that 2.1 million New Yorker, New York workers are impacted annually.

[00:05:40] Wow. So I suggest that you're an employee, even if you're a professional that is in HR or payroll,

[00:05:46] and you're listening to this episode, give this article a read and let me know your thoughts on it.

[00:05:55] Wow. That's crazy, man.

[00:05:56] Yeah, bro. What you got?

[00:05:58] I almost forgot mine. Hey, I was about to jump into the pay to bill. But, so mine is performance

[00:06:04] season is coming up. Reviews, annual performance reviews might be coming up for some now. Some

[00:06:10] folks, and there's no rhyme or reason folks, by the way, when people do, because you do a fiscal year,

[00:06:14] you could do it a calendar year, any who, but enough that Forbes dropped an article for tips for employees

[00:06:24] to keep in mind as they go through the, as they go through a performance review.

[00:06:28] Yeah. Right. I like always are the link will be in the show notes. You can read the full article. I'm

[00:06:32] just gonna, the highlights of it. They shared three quick tips to bring down some of that stress.

[00:06:40] Okay. And one is look at the whole year. Remember that the review is reflective of the past 12 months

[00:06:49] is the preceding 12 months from whenever that review is. Right. So it's not like the last week

[00:06:53] and that day and, oh my God, I had a crappy week. My reviews up. No, it's a whole year. Right. So keep

[00:06:59] that in mind. Holistically, the highs, the lows, the in-betweens, it can help you put together

[00:07:05] self-assessment of this, the timeframe and be, be, try to be honest with yourself about it so that you

[00:07:11] walk in there prepared for the worst. Right. Number two is review past reviews. Right. If you've been at

[00:07:19] a company for, you've been there for a little while and you have a history, then look at your past

[00:07:24] reviews and then, right. Use that as notes, prepare. Did you hit the goals from the last review that you

[00:07:30] set in this next? Cause that could be good to bring up. Wait a minute. My last review

[00:07:34] we hit these goals. I hit all those goals. Yeah. I had a roughy couple, rough couple months, but

[00:07:39] I hit all the goals from the last year. Yeah. Number three is prepare ahead of time. Jotting

[00:07:45] down notes in advance can help you with the self-assessment and feel less overwhelmed at review

[00:07:50] times. One of the things that I'll add to this, cause I've said in the, in the past on the show is we

[00:07:57] should keep, and I don't know if I still, if I do it yet either. They, any who I'm probably still a

[00:08:04] victim of my own advice here, but try to keep a running log of what you do week to week, meaning

[00:08:12] not daily tedious things, but oh wait, oh my gosh, I did this. You know, the accomplishments that happen

[00:08:19] during the year, keep the notes in real time. Yeah.

[00:08:22] Yeah. Because it's so hard to look back. It's so hard to look back at the 12 months. Like they said,

[00:08:27] oh, look back at the 12 months. What happened to dinner yesterday? Yeah. You know what I mean? Like,

[00:08:31] how am I going to remember eight months from now, nine months ago when I did anything?

[00:08:36] So if you keep, if you keep some type of log or type, type it, of course, whatever dates type,

[00:08:42] simple spreadsheet or a simple note, something digital with running and dates and things that you can just

[00:08:48] keep track of because that you, they are going to quickly forget what you did. And especially if

[00:08:56] money's involved, they're going to be like, oh yeah, I don't think you did it. And I had that happen to

[00:09:00] me once. Oh, you had a good year. You didn't have a great year, Brian. And I was like, what?

[00:09:04] Wait a minute. I just, I implemented a whole module by myself this past. What do you mean I

[00:09:08] didn't have a good year? I had a great year.

[00:09:09] What's that? Unfortunately, it's as that old saying goes, right? What have you done for me lately?

[00:09:16] Yes. Right? Yes. Yes. It's so true, especially in corporate America, but I'm sure it's in other

[00:09:24] environments as well. Right? Yeah. You did a good job six months ago, but what have you done for me lately?

[00:09:32] Now to the point I've been told that by a supervisor and what, what, like, what have you done for me?

[00:09:38] Yeah. Yeah. But because, because I, because I made a mistake or something during a payroll and we

[00:09:46] were able to fix it, but she wanted to bring this up and I was just, oh, you did this. I was like,

[00:09:52] yeah, but I always get complimented from my, our clients. I'm all, everybody here loves me. Like,

[00:09:59] I'm always doing good. I'm always like helping the team, always asking everybody that they need help,

[00:10:04] assistance or whatever. But I made this one mistake and that's what you're saying in my review. And

[00:10:11] she used that one mistake to grade me over my whole overview. Back in the day,

[00:10:18] I didn't know that you could, that I fought for that.

[00:10:22] Yes.

[00:10:22] That I was saying, oh, well, hey, I should have,

[00:10:24] Rebuttal.

[00:10:25] Rebuttal.

[00:10:25] Rebuttal.

[00:10:25] I should have been tracking all my accomplishments and all my accolades that I've done,

[00:10:29] all the emails and stuff that people have sent regarding me and giving me praise. I didn't know

[00:10:34] that back then.

[00:10:36] So.

[00:10:36] Yeah, keep them.

[00:10:37] Yes.

[00:10:37] Keep the emails.

[00:10:39] Yes, exactly.

[00:10:40] Right.

[00:10:40] Or what is it?

[00:10:41] Some folks, I've had some folks not sign their review.

[00:10:44] Cause I've been part of each other department points in my career, not mine,

[00:10:47] but I've seen other people in, at companies like, nope, I'm not signing.

[00:10:51] Yeah.

[00:10:51] I don't agree.

[00:10:52] Yep.

[00:10:52] All right.

[00:10:53] So if you do get a poor review, perfect segue, they have a few tips as well.

[00:10:58] And let's see, it says, make sure you understand the directions given for improvement.

[00:11:03] Yep.

[00:11:03] And don't be afraid to ask follow-ups even after a review has concluded.

[00:11:08] Right.

[00:11:08] Cause somebody like me, it takes, it takes me time to process the information.

[00:11:14] And it may be like, I need to sleep on things and I might wake up in the morning, like what,

[00:11:19] wait a minute.

[00:11:20] So it says, even if it says sometimes reflecting will lead to more new questions and you should

[00:11:25] not hesitate to be upfront about asking those, even if it's a week after their initial review

[00:11:30] conversation.

[00:11:31] Yeah.

[00:11:32] Like we say, speak up for yourselves, try to speak up, stand out to the squeaky wheel

[00:11:36] against the oil rebuttals.

[00:11:38] And there's probably there's a better word for, I can't, it's not coming to me, but rebuttals

[00:11:42] is just pushing back.

[00:11:44] Yeah.

[00:11:44] Yeah.

[00:11:45] Push back on it.

[00:11:46] And so yeah, those are the, oh, this one was good.

[00:11:51] Yeah.

[00:11:55] If you're focused on your comeback or counterpoint, you will likely miss the meat of what they're

[00:12:01] trying to communicate to you, which is what you'll need to improve says Rosencrantz in the

[00:12:06] article.

[00:12:07] They're quoting somebody here.

[00:12:08] Look at it.

[00:12:09] It's in Forbes magazine.

[00:12:10] Yeah.

[00:12:11] But that statement there.

[00:12:12] So those were, I think, cool, right?

[00:12:13] Yeah, that was cool.

[00:12:14] That, but that statement there to me sounds almost, and I, and I hate to drag it all here,

[00:12:18] but I just want to, what that sounds like to me is as if, if they're right, if they're

[00:12:22] rightfully trying to give you critiques to help you improve in that matter, basically

[00:12:28] be open-minded to receive that instead of pushing back, because that may be the case.

[00:12:34] In some cases, right?

[00:12:36] The supervisor that's giving you that review may be genuinely trying to help you improve

[00:12:41] upon your career and your position.

[00:12:44] Right.

[00:12:45] So just be open to that feedback.

[00:12:47] Hey, yeah, you did great, but maybe you could speak up a little bit more.

[00:12:50] Right.

[00:12:50] Or maybe you could be a little bit more responsive in emails or communication,

[00:12:55] something like that, whatever.

[00:12:57] So maybe I just wanted to, for me, that's what it sounded like at that, what you said in that

[00:13:02] statement.

[00:13:02] You're saying it's like a positive experience, whereas if it's not, if it's a, if it's a negative

[00:13:06] one, it might be a little harder to do these things.

[00:13:09] Is that what I mean?

[00:13:09] Yeah.

[00:13:09] Yeah.

[00:13:10] It's fair, but still, I guess that's something to gauge it, right?

[00:13:14] Yeah.

[00:13:14] Don't, that's even more of a reason why you don't argue.

[00:13:16] You know, if it's a, if it's a negative one, don't argue because you want to sit back, make

[00:13:22] note of it.

[00:13:22] And if you're not ready to respond, don't just say, Hey, you know what?

[00:13:25] I'm going to need to think about this a bit.

[00:13:27] And if I can, let's revisit and I'll respond tomorrow, later, whatever.

[00:13:31] And the final note tip that it had for employees, it says, seek out a mentor.

[00:13:36] It can, that is a former man, a former, a formal manager or someone who isn't even in your job.

[00:13:44] Somebody else can be a good sounding board to talk things through with.

[00:13:48] They have more tips for managers in here and all that, but this is about employees.

[00:13:53] So get the right counsel, wise counsel.

[00:13:55] Get the right counsel.

[00:13:56] Yeah.

[00:13:57] Exactly.

[00:13:57] You need somebody like saying, let's go jump this.

[00:13:59] Let's go jump your ball.

[00:14:01] Let's roll up on them.

[00:14:02] Yeah.

[00:14:03] Some good tips for there.

[00:14:04] Again, you can check the show notes.

[00:14:07] Yeah.

[00:14:08] For the link.

[00:14:09] And before we get into the main topic, we got to pay some bills.

[00:14:14] Let's do it.

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[00:15:33] All right.

[00:15:34] So our main topic is New York deductions, not just illegal ones, but what, what employees

[00:15:42] need to be mindful of and what you should know based on what a great article Walt mentioned

[00:15:48] in the beginning about all the 2 million New York employees that get robbed of wages annually.

[00:15:56] Why ignorance mainly if you don't know of, no, maybe different stuff too.

[00:16:00] Some of it is ignorance.

[00:16:02] Some of it is intentional.

[00:16:04] What I'm saying though, if the employee knew all their rights, right.

[00:16:08] And they could be like, Hey, Whoa.

[00:16:10] I meant from the employer abuse.

[00:16:11] Oh yeah.

[00:16:12] Yeah.

[00:16:13] Oh yeah.

[00:16:13] On the employer side, some of them in intent, right?

[00:16:15] You're right.

[00:16:16] Some of them are being malicious and it is true.

[00:16:19] Some of them just don't know.

[00:16:20] And the ones that don't know will usually be more willing to fix it.

[00:16:24] And oh my gosh, no, sorry.

[00:16:25] It is an ignorance thing, but you're right.

[00:16:27] All right.

[00:16:27] What do you got first?

[00:16:28] So I just have a couple of tips and stats.

[00:16:33] To share with employees and some resources that they can use and reach out to if they

[00:16:38] think that there's some deductions that they may have in the question.

[00:16:41] Yep.

[00:16:41] So look, you want to understand your deductions.

[00:16:45] 59% of employees report confusion over paycheck details.

[00:16:50] You and I know that.

[00:16:52] Almost 60%, right?

[00:16:54] Almost 60% have trouble when they review for deductions and review taxes and benefits and

[00:17:01] garnishments.

[00:17:01] Yeah.

[00:17:02] So we want to make sure that you have a clear understanding and that your employer is

[00:17:06] put presenting that in a way that's understandable for you as well.

[00:17:10] And don't be afraid to go ask questions.

[00:17:12] Ask your HR professional, your HR BP or your payroll pro that someone that can help you walk

[00:17:19] through the pay stub.

[00:17:21] Yeah.

[00:17:22] Brian has a wonderful story where somebody, I date one of his friends or family was looking

[00:17:26] into the show and said, Hey man, here's my paycheck stock.

[00:17:29] Yep.

[00:17:29] Look at it.

[00:17:30] Yep.

[00:17:31] You know what I'm saying?

[00:17:32] Yep.

[00:17:32] And lots of people do not understand what's going on.

[00:17:35] One of the, one of the funny stories that we always get is when FICA shows on somebody's

[00:17:41] attaches.

[00:17:42] They're like, what is this?

[00:17:43] I don't know.

[00:17:43] I don't know.

[00:17:44] Nobody means who was like, I don't know if I can be her.

[00:17:47] What the hell is FICA?

[00:17:48] FICA.

[00:17:49] FICA.

[00:17:49] You want to verify that you have pay statements, right?

[00:17:53] So mistakes in payroll affect one in four employees annually.

[00:17:58] The quarter of employees are impacted by payroll errors.

[00:18:04] Doesn't necessarily mean it's coming from the payroll pros.

[00:18:06] It could just be payroll error.

[00:18:08] So it could just be in general.

[00:18:09] Did they really break it down as far as what that meant?

[00:18:11] So you want to regularly compare your stubs to expectations and flag any discrepancies

[00:18:18] immediately.

[00:18:19] So if you're supposed to get paid at a different rate, you say you work a different shift and

[00:18:25] you're eligible for shift differential.

[00:18:27] You want to check that rate.

[00:18:29] Right.

[00:18:30] Because that's the form of the deduction too.

[00:18:32] It's just a form of the deduction from your wages.

[00:18:34] Right.

[00:18:35] So if you're supposed to get paid at a weighted average for OT, you know what I'm saying?

[00:18:40] Because you work between two different shifts and you have to blend in the rate for those.

[00:18:45] You want to make sure that you find out what that is as well.

[00:18:49] So make sure you flag those discrepancies and question.

[00:18:52] It's okay to ask questions about your check.

[00:18:55] And then we're just talking about some resources for assistance, right?

[00:18:58] The New York Department of Labor provides guidance on pay statements.

[00:19:02] So you can reach out to the DOL in New York and organizations like Legal Aid offer support

[00:19:09] for wage disputes.

[00:19:11] So you can reach out to them, right?

[00:19:12] You can go file those claims with the Department of Labor and they will review the labor standards

[00:19:18] complaint process for you.

[00:19:20] Right.

[00:19:21] And they're available in multiple languages.

[00:19:23] Those forms are, and they can be submitted for unpaid wages, withheld supplements and other

[00:19:29] violations as well.

[00:19:30] So you want to make sure you go ahead and do that.

[00:19:33] And they, and these links will be included on the show notes.

[00:19:36] And that's pretty much all I have, Brian.

[00:19:39] Yeah.

[00:19:40] But bro, I spoke volumes.

[00:19:42] I made some notes on some things because of it on when we meet on our weekly meetings, how key some

[00:19:47] of this data is to, to share and, and ways that we need to share it.

[00:19:52] So dope.

[00:19:52] Thank you for that.

[00:19:53] Um, I'll round it out with some of the legalities of it all, right?

[00:19:59] As employees, you should know that basically all employers are subject to these rules.

[00:20:06] Okay.

[00:20:07] Oh, I'm sorry.

[00:20:07] Except governmental agencies.

[00:20:09] Which is crazy.

[00:20:10] I mean, I was, it was funny cause I was just talking to somebody who was like, oh yeah,

[00:20:14] I love how they exclude government agencies, but sometimes they include them too.

[00:20:19] They do it.

[00:20:20] How can I say as a convene, as, as convenience, right?

[00:20:24] Recently.

[00:20:25] And it was like, oh, but only government agencies did it.

[00:20:28] So it was like, wait a minute.

[00:20:29] That's not really for all employees.

[00:20:31] So any, yeah.

[00:20:32] So any, who it's all employers in New York and basically the permitted deductions

[00:20:38] that are allowable are okay by law without any further legal requirements are the mandatory

[00:20:47] deductions like taxes.

[00:20:49] Particularly all they're allowed to out of your paycheck without permission.

[00:20:54] Okay.

[00:20:54] Okay.

[00:20:55] Now everything else, or so I'm sorry, mandatory will probably would also include garnishments.

[00:21:01] You do.

[00:21:01] If you have a garnishment, cause that's the law include child support, tax levies and creditor

[00:21:07] garnishments.

[00:21:09] Mandatory of course, but then the rest are employee authorized deductions.

[00:21:13] Permissions.

[00:21:14] Meaning you have to give permissions.

[00:21:16] Okay.

[00:21:17] As an employee, everything else you have to give permission.

[00:21:20] Okay.

[00:21:21] And it must be in writing and it must be kept on file by the employer.

[00:21:26] If you go back to them a year or two later and say, Hey, I don't remember approving this.

[00:21:31] Do you have the proof?

[00:21:32] They got to supply it because if not, then it's an illegal deduction.

[00:21:36] You have, you probably, you might have a case for something there.

[00:21:38] Okay.

[00:21:39] And that includes insurance premiums, pensions, health benefits, charitable contributions,

[00:21:45] bond purchases, dues and assessments, other similar payments for employee and benefits.

[00:21:51] You might say, Oh, I don't sign off on that.

[00:21:54] Brian, you do when you do open enrollment.

[00:21:57] Okay.

[00:21:57] They're call out.

[00:21:58] You are giving written and that's why your HR department is no,

[00:22:02] you got to go through open enrollment.

[00:22:04] And that's why they're so crazy about it because that is your written consent to deduct your paycheck

[00:22:10] for whatever those things are.

[00:22:12] No deductions with consent, legal plans, charity related things, transit benefits, which is usually

[00:22:20] along with open enrollment, maybe part of that, a gym membership that maybe your company's involved

[00:22:26] with on-site purchases.

[00:22:28] Some folks like if they have a cafeteria that you can use, or maybe some gift shops or pharmacy.

[00:22:34] I had come across a business recently that had a snack, had a snack shop area and they let the

[00:22:41] employees rack up a bill that would come out of their check.

[00:22:44] Right.

[00:22:44] So some things like that may, you have to give written approval for it in New York.

[00:22:51] Okay.

[00:22:51] It's not just you can do that.

[00:22:52] It's written approval and your employee employer has to keep that on file.

[00:22:56] So any who, sorry, more education and childcare costs.

[00:23:00] Okay.

[00:23:01] Usually again, that's most likely connected to open enrollment, but if something is separate

[00:23:08] housing provided by not-for-profit hospitals.

[00:23:11] Interesting.

[00:23:12] Yeah.

[00:23:13] Actually.

[00:23:14] Yeah.

[00:23:14] I get that.

[00:23:16] Okay.

[00:23:17] Okay.

[00:23:17] And then something that is not actually not folks don't realize it's a deduction is recovering

[00:23:25] overpayment.

[00:23:26] Right.

[00:23:27] Let's say your company overpaid you by accident and you're a good employee.

[00:23:32] You like your company, right?

[00:23:33] You're going to give it back.

[00:23:34] Okay.

[00:23:35] But, but this has to be approved in writing.

[00:23:39] Okay.

[00:23:40] They can't just say, Hey, we're taking it back on the next check.

[00:23:42] First of all, you can't let anybody's pay drop below minimum wage.

[00:23:48] Okay.

[00:23:49] Actually, it says it spells it out here.

[00:23:51] Cannot exceed 12.5% of gross wages per pay period or reduce wages below minimum wage.

[00:23:59] Okay.

[00:23:59] Just go for employees and no.

[00:24:00] Yep.

[00:24:01] Yes.

[00:24:02] So you, so please believe that if they deducted a pay money from your paycheck, guess what?

[00:24:07] They just gave you an interest-free loan.

[00:24:09] Yeah.

[00:24:10] And you can in fact say, Hey, can you take it back over the next five pay period?

[00:24:15] Yeah.

[00:24:15] Yeah.

[00:24:15] Whatever may be the case.

[00:24:17] Okay.

[00:24:18] Cause they need your written approval in New York state to take it back.

[00:24:23] Okay.

[00:24:24] Now the other side of that is the employer can recover for errors made in the last eight weeks

[00:24:30] within six years.

[00:24:32] Yeah.

[00:24:32] If they forget or they didn't catch it, they could still come back to you and say, Hey,

[00:24:38] we forgot it.

[00:24:39] So just keep that in mind.

[00:24:41] There's some laws that might help the employer, but they still need your written approval.

[00:24:45] Yep.

[00:24:45] And it says employers must notify the employees with clear details before deductions begin.

[00:24:52] Meaning how much, when, how long, all the dates, all the tools, all the math.

[00:24:58] Okay.

[00:24:59] And then the last one was recovering wage advances or section rather for allowed deductions,

[00:25:05] recovering wage advances.

[00:25:06] So like a pre-written agreed, pre-agreed written in terms required frequency amount are limited,

[00:25:12] limited and documented and authors authorization must include repayment terms and cannot be revoked.

[00:25:18] Meaning if your company is in the business of giving it again, the recovery of it is the

[00:25:24] payback of it is a deduction.

[00:25:26] You have to give, you have to give written approval for that.

[00:25:29] You had said, so you look like you hit, I hit, you had some that you thought about while

[00:25:33] I was talking.

[00:25:34] Yeah.

[00:25:34] So like Google and I did a search to see if there's any situations.

[00:25:41] I know we're talking about New York specifically, but I wanted to see if there were any states that

[00:25:45] said anything about oral contracts between employers and employees.

[00:25:51] And there's some stuff out there and it might be, yeah, there might be something.

[00:25:54] We're going to have to talk about that.

[00:25:55] Right.

[00:25:55] Because let's do a show.

[00:25:57] Yeah.

[00:25:57] Yeah.

[00:25:57] Because it said, it says that verbal contracts are allowed between employers and employees.

[00:26:04] Yes.

[00:26:04] And are legally binding.

[00:26:06] We got to see what states that is.

[00:26:06] Yeah.

[00:26:07] It says, it said in all states, it says employers can technically, that's the key,

[00:26:12] can technically have verbal contracts with employees in all states as verbal contracts

[00:26:17] are generally considered legally binding.

[00:26:20] Although it's highly recommended to have written agreements, especially for significant employment

[00:26:26] terms.

[00:26:28] Yeah.

[00:26:28] Yeah.

[00:26:29] It's going to, it's going to trump that for sure.

[00:26:30] But it's interesting.

[00:26:31] We, we should, we should circle back to that.

[00:26:33] Yeah.

[00:26:33] So now those are the allowable deductions again, must have it in writing in New York

[00:26:37] state.

[00:26:38] Yep.

[00:26:38] But now, and now there are penalties for the employers.

[00:26:41] They can, they can rack up civil penalties, $500 per wage violation, um, reasonable attorney

[00:26:47] fees, liquidated damages for willful violations.

[00:26:51] They say for 25% of old wages.

[00:26:53] I don't even know what that means, but go ahead and look it up.

[00:26:56] Yeah.

[00:26:56] Claims must be filed within six years of violation.

[00:27:00] Okay.

[00:27:01] So again, that six year part of it.

[00:27:03] Yeah.

[00:27:03] And then criminal penalties, a misdemeanor with 500 to $20,000 fines up to one year.

[00:27:09] Whoa.

[00:27:10] Or no, or up to one year in jail.

[00:27:13] Subsequent offenses within six years.

[00:27:15] Again, there goes a six year mark felony with the same fines and longer jail time.

[00:27:19] It, it, look, it's all going to depend on how egregious and how malicious this, these things

[00:27:23] are like, don't think you're going to go out there.

[00:27:25] Oh, I'm putting this, mommy, go go to jail, fool.

[00:27:27] No, that may not happen.

[00:27:28] They're just saying the law does address it.

[00:27:31] The key takeaways for employees.

[00:27:34] Okay.

[00:27:35] Understand what deductions are allowed and ensure any violation or I'm sorry,

[00:27:39] any voluntary deductions are authorized and right.

[00:27:42] Yep.

[00:27:43] That's the key takeaway.

[00:27:44] Employers must provide clear and timely notice for overpayment

[00:27:48] or advanced recovery, right?

[00:27:51] Be aware of protections against prohibited deductions, such as medical exam costs,

[00:27:57] repayment for employer losses.

[00:27:59] We talked about that, I think before.

[00:28:01] Yes.

[00:28:01] There was something with the employer losses that we talked about again.

[00:28:04] And basically, if you drop a machine of theirs and they're like, oh,

[00:28:08] we're going to take it back out of your check.

[00:28:09] It says not allowed.

[00:28:11] Hey, I know the law may have some gray areas, so you got to look into it.

[00:28:14] You, you, the information you have, you can easily come back and say, wait a minute.

[00:28:17] Is that legal?

[00:28:18] Yep.

[00:28:19] And then make them look, make them put the burden proof is on them.

[00:28:22] They have to say, yes, it is, or no, it isn't.

[00:28:24] And then you've already put them on alert.

[00:28:27] Cause they're like, whoa, wait a minute.

[00:28:28] This person that said is asked if it's legal.

[00:28:30] Is it guaranteed?

[00:28:32] They're going to go back to HR and then, oh, is this legal?

[00:28:34] And then the last one is know your rights and seek legal recourse and penalties employers may

[00:28:41] face for violations if they violate.

[00:28:44] Yeah.

[00:28:44] Okay.

[00:28:45] Definitely some good stuff out there for New Yorkers, my hometown.

[00:28:49] Um, and as we continue on this journey, man, we're going to get some more information out to folks for

[00:28:55] these type of things and empower you guys.

[00:28:57] And as we go into the holiday season, some of these small employers might be a little shady

[00:29:02] and do silly things like, oh wait, I can't afford to pay everybody over time.

[00:29:06] Or there might be a new business owner out there that doesn't know everything.

[00:29:09] They're still trying to figure something out.

[00:29:10] Yes.

[00:29:10] Good call out.

[00:29:11] Good call out.

[00:29:12] It may not be intentional.

[00:29:14] It may not be, it may be unintentional rather.

[00:29:16] Correct.

[00:29:17] And you may make a mistake.

[00:29:18] It happens.

[00:29:19] And usually that's how it always goes, right?

[00:29:21] At the worst times, like something happens when you need the money.

[00:29:25] And it's usually seems like that when it happens to you.

[00:29:27] Oh, for sure.

[00:29:28] Oh man, I got a classic story.

[00:29:30] This is nothing malicious, but it was when I was young

[00:29:32] in the game or just work, just started working in corporate.

[00:29:35] Christmas came.

[00:29:36] Yep.

[00:29:37] And I was getting a bonus.

[00:29:38] It was, I don't think it was a big one, but it was due to be paid after Christmas.

[00:29:42] Oh wow.

[00:29:43] And I asked my boss, I was like, hey, what's up with that though?

[00:29:45] I like, I need it for Christmas.

[00:29:46] And he's like, that's what credit cards are for.

[00:29:48] Yeah.

[00:29:49] And I was like, dang, okay.

[00:29:52] That'd be nice.

[00:29:53] I was looking forward to that.

[00:29:54] If I had good credit.

[00:29:56] Yeah.

[00:29:56] If I had good credit, that was true.

[00:29:57] This is the after holiday bonus for you.

[00:29:59] This is, yeah.

[00:30:00] Yeah.

[00:30:00] Cause I shoot now I'm pretty sure that's probably when I filed bankruptcy back in the day.

[00:30:06] Yeah, man.

[00:30:07] It's just, Hey, go through it.

[00:30:09] It happens.

[00:30:09] I mean, you listening probably have experienced that.

[00:30:12] Somebody adjacent.

[00:30:13] I know people in my life, my family that have done that.

[00:30:16] Yeah.

[00:30:16] It was a long time ago.

[00:30:17] And as I was young in the game, you know, credit, if you don't know how to manage credit and

[00:30:20] stuff like that, it'll get to you.

[00:30:22] Any who, what is our safe talk today?

[00:30:26] Our safe talk question is should these practical deductions ever be allowed without employee

[00:30:33] consent or does this open the door for expectation?

[00:30:37] Yeah.

[00:30:37] So, so, so, so there ever be a case where the employer should be allowed to just,

[00:30:41] and let's say, let's say in the case, the employer was overpaid growthfully overpaid

[00:30:46] and they put, instead of 80 hours, they put 800 and nobody caught it.

[00:30:50] Yeah.

[00:30:50] Say somebody was severely overpaid.

[00:30:52] Yup.

[00:30:53] And the employer was just like, we'll just, just take it back next time.

[00:30:57] Don't communicate with the employee.

[00:30:58] This, this employee is a problem employee anyway, or whatever.

[00:31:02] No, no.

[00:31:03] Would that, would that, do you think that opens the door for expectation?

[00:31:07] Yeah.

[00:31:08] Yeah.

[00:31:08] It D yeah.

[00:31:09] I, yes.

[00:31:10] The, for me in any good, in any decent payroll department, you should default to requiring signature

[00:31:19] of consent for any of these type of deductions.

[00:31:22] This is my opinion.

[00:31:23] There's another way to do it though.

[00:31:25] I talk about the handbook all the time because we'll file NAS that 70% of employees actively

[00:31:31] don't read it actively avoid reading the manual, the employee manual.

[00:31:37] Yeah.

[00:31:37] But if you signed off on it, there could have been a clause in your manual that says you

[00:31:45] are signing off to deductions in advance for overpayments in advance or anything we say

[00:31:52] is just that's written consent.

[00:31:55] Yup.

[00:31:56] Yup.

[00:31:56] Okay.

[00:31:57] If you get caught out there, that's, that's a different way they can do it.

[00:32:01] But I, at the end of the day, I think it has to be a sign off.

[00:32:05] What do you think?

[00:32:05] Look, I think that you hit the nail on the head that no matter what, that there should

[00:32:13] be some type of communication.

[00:32:15] One, first of all, and two consent, you know what I'm saying?

[00:32:21] I feel like that should be the case no matter what, some type of signed agreement saying,

[00:32:26] Hey, you, we at least want to let you know that this happened.

[00:32:30] And that is what you said and did this.

[00:32:34] This is what we want to want you to know.

[00:32:36] I think that's the way to operate as a professional.

[00:32:39] If you're in the HR or payroll world, or if you're a business owner, I think that's the right

[00:32:44] way to operate.

[00:32:45] For me, I think this does open it.

[00:32:47] I think this does open the door for both sides to be exploited.

[00:32:52] Wow.

[00:32:53] Both sides.

[00:32:53] So let's say the employee knows they were overpaid.

[00:33:00] Sometimes people are close in business.

[00:33:03] I could be in payroll with my, the person that I'm close to was the one that got overpaid and let them

[00:33:08] know, Hey, you might want to dip out.

[00:33:10] Cause we overpaid you.

[00:33:13] Oh yeah.

[00:33:13] I know that's far fetched.

[00:33:14] I don't know.

[00:33:15] And very seldom.

[00:33:16] But now with all the, now with all the true crime examples that we've.

[00:33:20] Shoot.

[00:33:22] But yeah, no, I think it, I, what I was going to say is I think it, it damages trust.

[00:33:27] Yeah, it definitely does.

[00:33:28] If you do that to your employee, if you do this to the employees, it damages the trust they

[00:33:31] have with you, with the company and if you're paying attention to trends, you meaning employers, um,

[00:33:39] are paying attention to trends.

[00:33:40] It's all about the employee experience nowadays.

[00:33:43] Yes, sir.

[00:33:44] You know what I mean?

[00:33:45] So if your employee experience, this is part of your employee experience for sure.

[00:33:49] Yeah.

[00:33:50] And I, now that it just clicked.

[00:33:51] That's probably why payroll has become so much more important these days.

[00:33:56] Yep.

[00:33:56] Because we really impact the employee experience.

[00:33:59] It's the, just like the article, the stats you found.

[00:34:02] Yep.

[00:34:02] After the second paycheck era, employees are thinking about leaving that job.

[00:34:07] Yep.

[00:34:08] After two, just after two paycheck eras.

[00:34:10] Yep.

[00:34:11] Yep.

[00:34:12] Employees are thinking about leaving.

[00:34:13] Yep.

[00:34:13] The employee experience is paramount.

[00:34:15] Yep.

[00:34:15] Drop the mic on it.

[00:34:17] Yes, sir.

[00:34:18] I'm going to get a mic.

[00:34:19] You just drop it.

[00:34:20] We got to get like a image dropping on the screen, right?

[00:34:29] They're away from the holidays.

[00:34:32] Yeah, no, I agree.

[00:34:33] It's gross.

[00:34:34] I agree with you, man.

[00:34:35] Yeah, man.

[00:34:35] And that's it.

[00:34:36] That's it, folks.

[00:34:37] We hope that you, when this drops, folks would have already eaten, had their

[00:34:42] thanksgivings if you celebrate and all that.

[00:34:44] If not, hope you had a day off anyway.

[00:34:46] And if not, if you had to work, thanks for what you do, whatever you do that had,

[00:34:50] you had to work that day.

[00:34:51] We appreciate you.

[00:34:52] Yeah.

[00:34:52] We'll, you know, take care of all the people.

[00:34:59] Retail, restaurants.

[00:35:00] Yes.

[00:35:01] And there's a lot, there's a lot of folks open.

[00:35:02] Road through stores.

[00:35:04] Road through stores.

[00:35:05] Everybody's wanting their money.

[00:35:06] Just fish your food.

[00:35:06] Yup.

[00:35:07] That's right.

[00:35:07] Retail is big and even if they close early, it's still, it's a heartache on that family

[00:35:11] and those folks that got to get out there and do it.

[00:35:14] Shout out to you.

[00:35:15] Thanks for what you do and keep an America running.

[00:35:17] Yep.

[00:35:17] Till the next time.

[00:35:18] We love you.

[00:35:19] Peace.

[00:35:20] Peace.

[00:35:20] Peace.

[00:35:26] Before we sign off, here are a couple of quick things.

[00:35:29] Don't forget to follow.

[00:35:30] It's about payroll on LinkedIn and it's about your paycheck on Facebook and TikTok.

[00:35:36] Thank you for being part of our payroll community and thank you for being a part of this journey

[00:35:42] with us until the next time.

[00:35:44] Keep learning, keep growing, and most importantly, keep going.