Can a employer garnish an overpayment without an employee’s written consent?

Under most circumstances, an employer may not make a payroll deduction without first having the written consent of the employeee in question. That having been said, certain deductions can be made with or without an employee's permission. For example, garnishments for child/spousal support, certain taxes and accidental overpayments. Specifically, overpayments of wages etc. can be deducted by the employer without written consent unless 1) the deduction iss made within 6 months of the overpayment; 2) theoverpayment resulted from a miscalculation, typo or other clerical error; 3) theemployer gave the employee a written explanation of the deduction at least 1 pay period prior to its having been made; 4) thededuction was not more than 15% of the gross wages earned for the pay period; and 5) after all other required/authorized deductions were made, the deduction for the overpayment did not reduce the employee's hourly gross pay rate for that period below the minimum wage.

Under most circumstances, an employer may not make a payroll deduction without first having the written consent of the employeee in question. That having been said, certain deductions can be made with or without an employee's permission. For example, garnishments for child/spousal support, certain taxes and accidental overpayments. Specifically, overpayments of wages etc. can be deducted by the employer without written consent unless 1) the deduction iss made within 6 months of the overpayment; 2) theoverpayment resulted from a miscalculation, typo or other clerical error; 3) theemployer gave the employee a written explanation of the deduction at least 1 pay period prior to its having been made; 4) thededuction was not more than 15% of the gross wages earned for the pay period; and 5) after all other required/authorized deductions were made, the deduction for the overpayment did not reduce the employee's hourly gross pay rate for that period below the minimum wage.