My employer recently sent out a mass e-mail threatening to dock wages if the Dress Code is not adhered to, at the rate of 50 cents per hour for 30 days. They send out secret shoppers and evidently are willing to take the word of the secret shopper as truth.

Is this legal?

Thanks

I am pretty sure it is legal and it would be up to you to prove you were following the dress code. Businesses do dock people for being late and other things.

I would be very surprised if this were legal. It would be legal if they sent you home to change and made you clock out during that time. It would be legal for them to fire you.

But I don't think they can dock your pay for it.

Only deductions legal are taxes, insurance and court orders and anything you SIGN UP for. So don't agree to sign for it.

Of course if you don't sign, you are probably an employee at will... which means they could terminate you if you don't agree to company policy.

As for the amount of the deduction, they could say that the 50 cents per hour is a bonus that is contingent on wearing the proper uniform and following policies. As long as the amount remaining is higher than minimum wage, I think they can get away with it.

And of course, some industries don't seem to have much of a minimum wage.

Basically, it sounds like the company is reducing your old (no-strings attached) pay rate by 50 cents, and then restoring the amount with the condition you meet their policy.

Here is what I found
But as Ohioguy said they can terminate you with the employ at will law.

Improper Salary Docking Under the Fair Labor Standards Act
If an employer makes deductions from employee pay, under the law, that employee may no longer be considered to be paid on a salary basis. As a result, the employer may owe the employee overtime. The FLSA permits employers to make only a limited number of pay deductions before the employee is considered nonexempt. The deductions allowed are deductions for a full day or for violations of safety rules. In a recent case, the judge held that an employee can also be considered nonexempt if the employer has a policy that would lead to salary deductions, even if the employer made no actual deductions. In this case, the employee handbook included policies that could result in wage deductions violations such as making personal phone calls or dress code violations. Ergo v. International Merchant Services, Inc. Case No.04-06789 (N.D. Ill. Sept. 13, 2007).

Court Rejects Disciplinary Deductions from Exempt Employee Pay

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld that the docking of an exempt employee's pay for disciplinary infractions can jeopardize the employee's exempt status. The court also limited the circumstances under which employers may correct their mistakes retroactively to avoid losing the exemptions.

Does your organization have a policy that docks employees for disciplinary reasons? Have you applied that policy to your salaried exempt employees? If you answered “yes,” you may have violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), jeopardizing the exempt status of that employee as well as all other salaried exempt employees subject to the policy. And, according to a recent court ruling, even if you catch the error and correct it, you still may be liable for back overtime pay and penalties. In Kenneth A. Takacs, et al. v. Hahn Automotive Corporation, No. 99-4431 (6th Cir. 4/13/01), the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals determined that maintaining a policy that allows the pay of exempt employees to be docked for disciplinary infractions is evidence that an employer did not intend to pay exempt employees on a salary basis. It also ruled that the “window of corrections” defense is available only to employers who can demonstrate that they intended to pay employees on a salary basis.

Company Docked Managers for Rules Violations [Download Free Policies]

In this case, the employer acquired another company in 1993 that had a policy subjecting managerial employees to suspensions without pay for misconduct on the job. The employer did not issue new policies after the purchase. In the following 18-month period, seven managers at the purchased company were suspended without pay for disciplinary reasons and, on another 12 occasions, managers received letters threatening them with suspension without pay because of rules violations. As a result of an unrelated lawsuit, the employer discovered the problems with the suspension policy, rescinded it, and reimbursed the managers who had been suspended without pay.

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Court Rejects Disciplinary Deductions from Exempt Employee Pay

Thanks so much for your help.