employer make an employee pay for gas theft
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employer make an employee pay for gas theft
My daughter works at a gas station, and the owner has made her pay for a drive off. customer did not pay for their gas, so the owner made my daughter pay for it. is that allowable/legal in Michigan?
Asked on July 12, 2016 under Employment Labor Law, Michigan
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
Such a policy for a drive off is illegal. In the majority of states it is unlawful for an employer to deduct from an employee's salary for an amount owed by a customer who has skipped out on payment. Minimum wage laws ensure full pay for hours worked; an employer that illegally deducts money from an employee's wages faces severe penalties. The foregoing is true unless the employee specifically agreed to be liable for something like this (which includes the terms of an employment contract or union agreement allowing for this).
That all having been said, the employee could be terminated for not paying for the drive off. The fact is that most employment relationships are "at will", which means an employer can hire or fire as it chooses for any reason or no at all. Accordingly, while an employee has the right to not make up for the amount not collected, they could lose their job over it.
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