Proposed Regulations Issued Which Would Allow Employers to Withhold Post-Tax Wages to Pay for Health Club Membership Fees or Child Care Services

The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOL) has proposed amending the regulations governing the withholding of wages by employers to permit employers to withhold or divert a portion of an employee’s wages to pay for health club membership fees or child care services. Finding that employers are more frequently making arrangements with health clubs and child care service providers to provide those services to employees, often at a discounted group rate, employers would like the freedom to withhold the cost of the fees from the wages of participating employees. Because these arrangements result in healthier and more productive workforces, the DOL is proposing to add this narrow exception to the general prohibition against the withholding or diversion of any portion of an employee’s wages. The proposed regulation would require the employee to consent in writing to such a diversion or be authorized by a collective bargaining agreement. Employers may submit written comments concerning the proposed regulation to the DOL until January 30, 2009. 

Note: This article was published in the January 2009 issue of the New Jersey eAuthority.