Legal Question in Employment Law in Alabama
employer withholding partial pay
My employer has informed me that he will begin deducting 30% of my weekly pay for money he says I owe him. This would include commissions that he says he overpaid me over the last 3 years. I am paid on commission only. Whether I owe him the money has not been determined yet. Can he hold that much of my paycheck?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: employer withholding partial pay
No. But he can fire you. There is a state law protecting commission pay in Alabama and it is pretty good providing for treble damages and attorney fees, but it does not have an anti-retaliation provision. Thus you can be fired by this man and if you assert your rights most likely will be.
Generally the best advice is to quit and file suit after 30 days if he has not paid you all that is due you. If he truly overpaid you, then you could of course lose. But of course, how has he overpaid you? What documentation about sales and payment and commission structure do you have?
This could be a good case if there's a lot of money at stake to make it worth pursuing. If you're talking a few hundred dollars though, you might not find it worth it.
Generally speaking maximum garnishment of paychecks is 25% but your situation may be different.
Sterling L. DeRamus
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