pay deductions

System · November 2004

I have a customer (Hotel Operator) that wants to have an employee "reimburse" them for a mistake that the employee made. The employee allowed a guest to register under a "direct bill" arrangement, whereas a guest is not required to pay at that time, but their account (or company) is charged by future invoice. The employee failed to follow the procedures to verify that the guest had direct bill privledges. It turns out the guest in fact did not have such privledges (further, the company this guest used to be employed by also was no longer eligible for a direct bill arrangement). The hotel owner wants to deduct the error from the employees wages over sucessive paychecks (so as not to drop the wages below minimum wage). Is this allowed?? (the hotel is located in Florida). If not, why, or under what circumstances can cash shortages /lost revenue due to employee error be recouped by an employer??
I suggested he (Hotel owner) put the payback arrangement in writing and offer the employee the option of paying back the money, or, if they refuse to agree to that arrangment, allow the employee to resign or be terminated. Is this an acceptable approach?

Down_the_Middle · November 2004

Many states prohibit this sort of thing unless the error was willful. Suggest you check to see what AL provides for a remedy (if any). My guess is that the employer must determine whether to reimburse the customer and then choose to deal with the employee separately thru whatever disciplinary actions are relevant for your organization. I would use caution with a hasty decision here-----------I'll be you'll have less flexibility than you expect to have.

Don D · November 2004

I view the overall approach of dunning the employee to be overly punitive. Who doesn't make mistakes? I recommend you or your client review the overall record of this employee to determine his/her penchant for error, record of mistakes, potential for success, history of contribution to the organization and perceived future with the company. Then, either decide to terminate or retain. If you view him/her as a 'throw away clerk', throw them away. If you view them as human with the ability to make a mistake and grow from it as a result, take a somewhat different approach. With the tremendous amount of profit built into room-rent charges, the hotel could easily suck this one up to experience. Sounds like the hotel industry can be particularly harsh and cruel to me.

pay deductions

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