2007 Minnesota Statutes

181.79 WAGES DEDUCTIONS FOR FAULTY WORKMANSHIP, LOSS, THEFT, OR
DAMAGE.
    Subdivision 1. Deduction requirements. No employer shall make any deduction, directly or
indirectly, from the wages due or earned by any employee, who is not an independent contractor,
for lost or stolen property, damage to property, or to recover any other claimed indebtedness
running from employee to employer, unless the employee, after the loss has occurred or the
claimed indebtedness has arisen, voluntarily authorizes the employer in writing to make the
deduction or unless the employee is held liable in a court of competent jurisdiction for the loss
or indebtedness. Such authorization shall not be admissible as evidence in any civil or criminal
proceeding. Any authorization for a deduction shall set forth the amount to be deducted from
the employee's wages during each pay period.
A deduction may not be in excess of the amount established by law as subject to garnishment
or execution on wages.
Any agreement entered into between an employer and an employee contrary to this section
shall be void. This section shall not apply to the following:
(a) in cases where a contrary provision in a collective bargaining agreement exists;
(b) any rules established by an employer for employees who are commissioned salespeople,
where the rules are used for purposes of discipline, by fine or otherwise, in cases where errors or
omissions in performing their duties exist; or
(c) in cases where an employee, prior to making a purchase or loan from the employer,
voluntarily authorizes in writing that the cost of the purchase or loan shall be deducted from the
employee's wages, at regular intervals or upon termination of employment.
    Subd. 2. Violations by employer. An employer who violates the provisions of this section
shall be liable in a civil action brought by the employee for twice the amount of the deduction
or credit taken.
History: 1977 c 227 s 1; 1978 c 588 s 1; 1Sp1985 c 13 s 293; 1986 c 444