“…Employees were required to pay kickbacks regardless of the reason for the shortage, regardless of fault and regardless of the impact of the kickback on the employee’s earnings over the pay period…those employees 
were not granted any corresponding credits when the cash register had surplus funds…”
A Portland attorney is suing the state’s largest lottery retailer, alleging that it routinely violated Oregon’s minimum wage law.
Attorney Paul Breed claims that Oregon Restaurant Services Inc., which owns the lucrative Dotty’s deli chain, illegally forced minimum-wage employees to pay “kickbacks†to cover shortages in the cash register at the end of their shifts.
Under state law, tips don’t count toward the minimum wage. In fact, the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association has long lobbied the Legislature to allow “tip credit,†so tips could count toward the minimum wage, $8.95 an hour.
No Oregon employers are allowed to deduct money from workers’ wages to cover shortfalls in the till, no matter how much they earn, says Christie Hammond, deputy director of the state labor bureau, known as BOLI. Employers may ask workers to make payments to defray the costs of shortfalls only if they earn more than minimum wage, or the cost wouldn’t cause their wages to fall below minimum wage, Hammond says.
So what are restaurants and other retailers to do when they want to hold employees accountable for missing money in the cash register at the end of the day? Employers have other legal recourse if they think an employee is stealing from them or otherwise losing money, Hammond says. “But they shouldn’t be the judge and jury to decide if the employee is guilty of the shortage.â€
For more:Â http://www.koinlocal6.com/news/local/story/Lawsuit-slams-Dottys-kickback/LroqQJeb4EaClTE2VdLNaA.cspx
