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Can your employer take money out of your paycheck in New York? Legal and illegal deductions

Updated By The editorial teamNot reviewed by an attorney — based on the official sources below

In short

Only a short list of deductions is legal in New York (Labor Law § 193): those required by law, like taxes; those you authorized in writing for your own benefit, like health insurance premiums or union dues; and recovery of overpayments or pay advances under strict DOL rules. Deductions for broken items, cash register shortages, fines or other business losses are illegal, and the employer can't get around this by making you pay separately. A required uniform's cost also can't push a minimum-wage worker below the minimum. You can recover illegal deductions through the Department of Labor or in court.

Read on for the details, the exceptions and the sources.

In plain words

Deduction
Any money taken out of your wages before you're paid.
Written authorization
A signed, voluntary permission you give for a specific deduction after being told its terms in writing.
Separate transaction
When the employer has you pay it back in cash or by check instead of taking it from your paycheck — banned for the same things it can't deduct.

The full answer

Labor Law § 193(1) allows only three kinds of deductions. First, deductions made under a law or government regulation, such as tax withholding. Second, deductions you expressly authorize in writing that are for your benefit, given voluntarily after written notice of their terms — limited to items such as insurance premiums and prepaid legal plans, pension or health and welfare benefits, charity contributions, U.S. bonds, union dues, transit passes, gym memberships, on-site cafeteria or pharmacy purchases, tuition, child care and similar payments. Third, recovery of an overpayment caused by a clerical or math error, or repayment of a salary advance — and only following the Department of Labor's regulations, which require advance notice and a way to dispute.

Everything else is off limits. The DOL lists as illegal: deductions for breakages, cash shortages, fines, losses to the business, charges for replacing a paycheck, and overcharges for paid family leave premiums. Under § 193(3)(a), an employer also can't make you pay those amounts 'by separate transaction', such as handing back cash.

You can revoke a deduction you authorized, in writing, at any time (except deductions required or authorized by a current union contract). The employer must stop it as soon as practicable and in no case later than four pay periods or eight weeks after you revoke, whichever is sooner (§ 193(3)(c)).

Exceptions and special cases

  • Union contracts: deductions authorized in a collective bargaining agreement, such as union dues, are allowed even without each worker's separate consent (§ 193(1)(b)).
  • Pre-tax plans: deductions for an IRS-approved pre-tax benefit plan are treated as deductions made under law (§ 193(2)).
  • Uniforms: the DOL says the cost of buying or cleaning a required uniform can't bring a minimum-wage worker below the minimum wage.
  • Tips: an employer can't keep any part of your tips (§ 196-d). Tipped workers may authorize in writing that part of their tips be used for deductions § 193 allows, like health insurance or union dues.
  • Wage garnishments for debts are deductions made under law, with their own limits — see the wage garnishment page.
  • The version of § 193 described here is in effect until November 6, 2028, when an earlier, shorter version of the section is scheduled to return.

What to do now

  1. Find the deduction on your pay stub

    Your pay stub must list every deduction (§ 195(3)). Ask in writing what any unclear line is for.

  2. Check whether you signed for it

    Ask for a copy of any written authorization. If there isn't one, or the deduction isn't on § 193's list, it's likely illegal.

  3. Ask for it back

    Send a short written request listing each deduction, the date and the amount, and asking for repayment by a set date.

  4. File a claim

    File a free claim with the DOL's Division of Labor Standards, which investigates illegal deductions, or sue. In court, Labor Law § 198(1-a) provides the amount owed, attorney's fees, interest and, unless the employer proves good faith, 100% liquidated damages.

Frequently asked questions

The register was $40 short and my boss took it from my pay. Is that legal?

No. The DOL lists cash shortages among illegal deductions, and Labor Law § 193 doesn't allow them even if you agreed.

I broke a piece of equipment. Can my employer charge me for it?

Not through your wages, and not by making you pay separately. The DOL lists breakage among illegal deductions, and § 193(3)(a) bars collecting it by separate transaction.

My employer overpaid me by mistake. Can they take it back?

Yes, but only under the Department of Labor's regulations, which include giving you notice first and a way to dispute the amount (§ 193(1)(c)).

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Official sources

This page was written from the sources below. “Checked” is the date the source was last opened and read.

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This page is general information based on the official sources listed, current as of the update date. It is not legal advice and does not replace a review of your own situation; if a case is already in court, a deadline is close, the amount is large, or there are criminal, immigration or family-law consequences, talk to a lawyer or legal aid.