When can an Oklahoma employer deduct from an employee’s paycheck?

An employee’s paycheck is semi-sacred and rightfully so because it is the sole source of income for most people in Oklahoma.

The sacrosanct nature of the paycheck means that it cannot be withheld or deducted from except in certain circumstances.  Generally, an Oklahoma employer cannot deduct from or withhold out of an Oklahoma employee’s paycheck unless:

• The deduction is permitted by state or federal law (taxes, unemployment compensation, etc. . .), or

• The employer and employee have agreed in a written document that is signed by parties and only in these circumstances:
  • repay a loan or advance or to recover a payroll overpayment,
  • for the cost of merchandise purchased by the employee,
  • uniforms,
  • insurance premiums,
  • retirement or other investment plans,
  • for breakage or loss of merchandise, inventory shortage, or cash shortage so long as the employee was the sole party responsible for the cash shortage or item damaged or lost.

However, for most of these deductions, they cannot cause the employee’s compensation to be below the applicable minimum wage.

This material came out of the Oklahoma Administrative Code Section 380:30-1-7 and with the assistance of this website.

This is a general summary of allowable withholdings from paychecks of Oklahoma employees.  For assistance with a specific matter, please feel free to reach out to me.