Indiana: Employers Now Permitted to Deduct Uniform Rental from Wages

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All Employers with IN Employees

EFFECTIVE

May 1, 2019

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SB 99 now permits employers to deduct the cost of uniform rentals from an employee’s paycheck, including the cost of things like uniform shirts, pants, or job-related clothing. Previously, paycheck deductions were only permitted under specific circumstances, and could only be made for approved reasons listed in Indiana’s wage deduction statute (primarily, health insurance premiums and union dues).  Uniform and job-required equipment “purchases” were added to the statute in 2015; with SB 99, rental of uniform wear is now added to this list of approved deductions.

Employers may deduct uniform rental costs from employee wages up to a maximum cap of $2,500 per year, or 5% of the employee’s weekly disposable earnings, whichever is less. The amendment also legalizes any previous uniform rental deductions, so long as (1) the deduction meets the requirements of the amended statute, and (2) the deducted amount was either paid off by the employer, or retained by employer and used to credit any debt to the employer owed by the employee.

Employers should note that uniform or job-related clothing does not include any personal protective equipment required by federal regulations.

Action Items

  1. Review the bill here.
  2. Have managers and payroll staff trained on requirements for collecting uniform rental deductions from paychecks.
  3. Implement payroll procedures to audit deductions for mandated caps.
  4. Subscribers can call our HR On-Call Hotline at (888) 378-2456 for further assistance.

Disclaimer: This document is designed to provide general information and guidance concerning employment-related issues. It is presented with the understanding that ManagEase is not engaged in rendering any legal opinions. If a legal opinion is needed, please contact the services of your own legal adviser.

© 2019 ManagEase

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