MS -Deductions from Final Wages

goneal

I have an employee who ordered personal items for her own use but used our business address as the billing address. The company has sent her several past due statements (items purchased in July and August 2004) but she has failed to pay them. Question: Can I legally withhold this amount from her final check since she "purchased items that benefited and were approved by the employee" since our company is receiving the Collection warnings?

Second Question: If not, can I give the company her personal mailing address?

She is being terminated for other reasons having nothing to do with this issue.

Thanks for your help.

marc

This was posted twice, see the other post for my response.

goneal

Cannot locate your other message reply.

marc

I don't know how it got lost, probably some user problem on my end. As best I can reconstruct it as follows:

You cannot deduct anything from an EEs check without his written permission specifiying a description and amount, except for required taxes and court orders (garnishments, orders from bankruptcy judges, and the like).

I would not provide a address or other employee information without specific authorization to do so from the EE. I would simply tell the company that the EE is no longer here and would forward whatever collection letters you have been receiving to the ex-EE.

If the company was interested in any other information, I have a couple of thoughts:

First, I would not give them anything such as a phone number unless it was published in the white pages or other public information source. Even then, I would probably just tell them to look it up in such and so directory.

Secondly, there is a surprising amount of information available just by using a couple of different web sites that any collection company worth their salt will not have any trouble finding most of the information you could otherwise provide.

Peyton Irby MS

1. you may not deduct without her written authorization.
2. we do not recommend sending them her home address. advise the vendor she is no longer employed and not to send any further statements to the company address.
Peyton Irby
Editor, Mississippi Employment Law Letter
Watkins Ludlam Winter & Stennis, P.A.
(601) 949-4810
[email]pirby@watkinsludlam.com[/email]

goneal

Thank you.