Can my employer dock my pay for using the company van?
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Can my employer dock my pay for using the company van?
My previous employer would dock my pay for using their company van. The first hour after leaving my house in the morning I was not paid and the hour before I got home I wouldn’t be paid. I worked out of town a lot so those weeks weren’t a big deal but on the week’s I worked local I would have to work 50
hours to get a 40 hour pay check, is that legal? Worked there 3 years until recently.
Asked on June 20, 2017 under Employment Labor Law, Tennessee
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
No, you cannot have your pay docked in this way if you are hourly: if an hourly employee is working, he or she must be paid for all work time--that is the law (e.g. the Fair Labor Standards Act or FLSA). If you are not being paid for all time that you are working (but note: you do *not* have to be paid for your commute to or from work--that is not considered work time), you could file a wage and hour complaint with the department of labor for the unpaid wages.
There are things your employer *can* do if you are using their van: 1) they can bar you from using the van--they can prohibit this; 2) if you are using the van for *any* non-work time, including getting to/from work, they could charge you a rental fee. There is no inherent right to use a company vehicle.
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