Can an employer deduct one persons pay from another employee

I am employed as an air conditioning technician servicing apartments in the Sacramento area. There are two technicians assigned to each complex and one assistant provided by the company.
The techs receive $15.00 per apartment unit and the assistant hired by the company gets $8.00 per hour. On my last paycheck, there was a misc. deduction for $32.00 and when I asked what the deduction was for. I was told that was to pay the assistant.
My question is this. Is it a legal practice for a company to hire someone and pay them by deducting their salary from another employee?

1 answer  |  asked Apr 17, 2002 10:08 AM [EST]  |  applies to California

Answers (1)

Janet M. Koehn
no!

unless this is a legitimate apprenticeship program in which you personally hire the assistant, pay him yourself and send him a w2 in january, this is an illegal practice. contact your local california dept. of labor standards enforcement, in the govt. pages of your phonebook. also contact an employment law specialist in your area. i recommend chris whelan in gold river. please use my name! if you cannot find an attorney there, please contact me.
good luck!
janet koehn
805-658-0655

posted by Janet M. Koehn  |  Apr 17, 2002 10:53 AM [EST]

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