(a) Deductions shall be for the benefit of the employee when the deduction is for one of the items expressly listed in section 193(1)(b) of Labor Law. More generally, deductions are for the benefit of the employee when they provide financial or other support for the employee, the employee’s family, or a charitable organization. Such support shall be limited to the following categories: health and welfare benefits; pensions and retirement benefits; child care and educational benefits; charitable benefits; dues and assessments; transportation; and food and lodging.

Each wage deduction may provide some level of convenience to employees in facilitating payments, but convenience itself is not a recognized benefit for purposes of determining whether any given deduction is for the benefit of the employee. For example, an employer who offers to cash an employee’s paycheck may not deduct a fee for providing that service because the convenience of having the paycheck cashed by the employer does not provide any benefit to the employee, but only ease in cashing his or her paycheck.

(c) Every deduction may provide some generalized indirect benefit to employers by helping to attract and maintain a stable and productive workforce. However, deductions that result in financial gain to the employer at the expense of the employee call into question whether the deduction provides a benefit to the employee. Employers are not precluded from making deductions in all cases where there is a benefit to the employer. Employers may make deductions for the sale of their own goods and services to their employees at a discounted rate as long as the deduction is in compliance with section 193 of the Labor Law and this Part. Similarly, where employees are provided the direct benefit of a reduced price for goods or services from an outside vendor, the employer is not precluded from availing themselves of the same benefit of the reduced priced goods or services. Nothing herein shall be construed as permitting an employer to receive a direct payment from an outside vendor as part of the sale of goods and services to the employees except for deductions made pursuant to section 193(1)(b)(iv) of the Labor Law.