Employer withheld money from paychech without notifing me.

[oceaneyes77]

I am a salaried employee of a company in Arkansas. I recently gave my 30 days notice and my employer with held almost 1/2 of my paycheck this pay period without discussing this with me(plans on taking out the same during the next pay cycle). The money they are withholding is for a conference they sent everyone in the office to, a conference that I did even need to go to! Do they have the right to do this??????

[pattytx]

Arkansas law is pretty sparse when it comes to such issues. Is this a conference the company already paid for in anticipation you would be attending as an employee?

Was the deduction taken from gross pay (before taxes) or from net pay (after taxes)?

Are you exempt or nonexempt?

[oceaneyes77]

I have only been with the company for 4 months. Not long after I started I was told that there was a CE course that everyone was going to so that we could meet current guidelines. I did not need this course because I was already current and I would not have gone had I not been working for this company.

The money came out after taxes.

[pattytx]

You didn't authorize the deduction, correct? The company enrolled you in the course on their own?

Did the deduction take you below minimum wage for the workweek (if nonexempt) or below $455/week (if exempt)? There was a reason I asked this question.