Last week, the New York Department of Labor (“DOL”) published proposed regulations governing the new categories of permissible wage deductions in Section 193 of the New York Labor Law that took effect in November 2012. The law was amended to allow: (1) new types of deductions made for the benefit of the employee, (2) deductions made to recapture overpayments of wages due to employer error, and (3) deductions made to repay wage advances given to employees. We detailed the revisions to the law in a September 2012 Alert available here. When finalized, the regulations governing these deductions will be codified at 12 N.Y.C.R.R. 195.

The amended Section 193 created a number of new permissible wage deductions for the benefit of employees, including those made for discounted parking passes or fare cards, gym membership dues, cafeteria purchases, and day care expenses, among others. It also permitted “similar payments for the benefit of the employee,” but did not describe those payments.