No employer may withhold or divert any portion of an employee's wages unless (1) the employer is required or empowered to do so by state or federal law, or (2) the employer has written authorization from the employee for deductions on a form approved by the commissioner, or (3) the deductions are authorized by the employee, in writing, for medical, surgical or hospital care or service, without financial benefit to the employer and recorded in the employer's wage record book, or (4) the deductions are for contributions attributable to automatic enrollment, as defined in section
31-71j, in a retirement plan described in Section 401(k), 403(b), 408, 408A or 457 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as from time to time amended, established by the employer, or in the Connecticut Retirement Security Program established pursuant to section
31-418, or (5) the employer is required under the law of another state to withhold income tax of such other state with respect to (A) employees performing services of the employer in such other state, or (B) employees residing in such other state.
(1967, P.A. 714, S. 5; P.A. 08-118, S. 1; P.A. 13-8, S. 1; P.A. 16-29, S. 18; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 16-3, S. 107, 207; P.A. 22-118, S. 116.)
History: P.A. 08-118 added Subdiv. (4) to permit employer to withhold employee's wages for contributions to automatic enrollment retirement plan; P.A. 13-8 added Subdiv. (5) permitting employer to withhold or divert employee wages if the employer is required under the law of another state to withhold income tax of such other state; P.A. 16-29 amended Subdiv. (4) by adding reference to Connecticut Retirement Security Program, effective July 1, 2016; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 16-3 changed effective date of P.A. 16-29, S. 18, from July 1, 2016, to January 1, 2017, effective June 2, 2016, and amended Subdiv. (4) by replacing “Connecticut Retirement Security Program” with “Connecticut Retirement Security Exchange”, effective January 1, 2017; P.A. 22-118 replaced reference to “Exchange” with “Program,” effective July 1, 2022.
Cited. 212 C. 294. Formula for calculating salesperson's commissions did not violate prohibition against employer deducting money from employees' wages. 260 C. 152. Under 2007 revision, written authorization re potential forfeiture of withheld wages was informed and voluntary and complied with requirements of Subdiv. (2), and employer's failure to seek Labor Commissioner's approval of plan election form did not, by itself, require invalidation of authorized payroll plan deductions because statute is directory, not mandatory, re form approval. 289 C. 769.
Plaintiff, an at-will employee, failed to provide any law or legal analysis to support claim that trial court improperly concluded that, in implementing furlough program affecting all salaried and hourly employees, employer did not violate statute prohibiting withholding of any portion of an employee's salary. 52 CA 724.
Cited. 40 CS 246.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
23
cases (
5 in the last 5 years), 1999–2025 · leading case:
Weems v. Citigroup, Inc., 961 A.2d 349 (Conn. 2008).
Weems v. Citigroup, Inc., 961 A.2d 349 (Conn. 2008).
· cites it 18× “23 See General Statutes § 31-71e (“[n]o *792 employer may withhold or divert any portion of an employee’s wages unless .”
Mytych v. May Dep't Stores Co., 793 A.2d 1068 (Conn. 2002).
· cites it 10× “General Statutes § 31-71e provides: “No employer may withhold or divert any portion of an employee’s wages unless (1) the employer is required or empowered to do so by state or federal law, or (2) the employer has written authorization from the employee for deductions on a form…”
Emerick v. Kuhn, 737 A.2d 456 (Conn. App. Ct. 1999).
· cites it 9× “Except for the count alleging violation of General Statutes § 31-71e, which was tried to the trial court, the case was tried to a jury.”
Ass'n Resources, Inc. v. Wall, 2 A.3d 873 (Conn. 2010).
· cites it 5× “” 12 General Statutes § 31-71e provides: “No employer may withhold or divert any portion of an employee’s wages unless (1) the employer is required or empowered to do so by state or federal law, or (2) the employer has written authorization from the employee for deductions on a…”
State v. Banks, 146 A.3d 1 (Conn. 2016).
· cites it 3× “(2) the employer has written authorization from the employee for deductions on a form approved by the [C]ommissioner [of Labor (commissioner) ]," the requirement that an employer use a form approved by the commissioner was directory.”
Datto Inc. v. Braband, 856 F. Supp. 2d 354 (D. Conn. 2012).
· cites it 8× “Conn. Gen.Stat. § 31-71e prohibits an employer from withholding or diverting any portion of an employee’s wages unless: “(1) the employer is required or empowered to do so by state or federal law, or (2) the employer has written authorization from the employee for deductions on…”
Mujo v. Jani-King Int'l, Inc., 307 F. Supp. 3d 38 (D. Conn. 2018).
· cites it 7× “In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs did not claim that the employer failed to pay them their earned wages as calculated under the commission agreement; rather, they argued that the calculation the employer used was an illegal refund or deduction from their earned wages under §§…”
Saunders v. Firtel, 978 A.2d 487 (Conn. 2009).
· cites it 2× “General Statutes § 31-71e provides: “(a) Whenever an employee voluntarily terminates his employment, the employer shall pay the employee’s wages in full not later than the next regular pay day, as designated under section 31-71b, either through the regular payment channels or by…”
Mytych v. May Dep't Stores Co., 34 F. Supp. 2d 130 (D. Conn. 1999).
“Count Three Count Three alleges that May’s policies of deducting unidentified return commissions and requiring stock time are both in violation of Section 31-71e, a statute similar to Section 31-73, which prohibits an employer from withholding or diverting any portion of an…”
State v. Lynch, 948 A.2d 1026 (Conn. 2008).
· cites it 2× “8 See General Statutes § 31-71e. 9 Civil actions brought pursuant to General Statutes § 31-72 and criminal prosecutions authorized by General Statutes § 31-71g are separate enforcement mechanisms for ensuring compliance with the requirements of, inter alia, § 31-71b.”
— Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-71e(3) — 1 case
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