In a viral TikTok video, a worker slams her new employer for charging her for the shirt she’s required to wear to work. The TikToker says this has her convinced to quit already.
As much as workers may hate the fact that their employers deduct the cost of their uniforms from their paychecks, it turns out that this practice is protected by federal law.
Nolo.com states, “Federal law allows employers to deduct the cost of supplying and maintaining a uniform (having it mended or cleaned and pressed) from an employee’s paycheck, as long as the employee’s wages after the deduction don’t fall below the minimum wage.”
However, this comes with some stipulations. If you’re only earning a minimum wage, then your employer isn’t allowed to deduct any uniform costs from your job. However, if you get a pay increase or earn more than the minimum, then your employer can deduct both the uniform and cleaning costs from your pay as long as the amount doesn’t dip into those minimum wage amounts, so these deductions can be taken out of your paycheck over various pay cycles.
However, just because it’s federal law doesn’t make folks feel any better about the fact that they’re being asked to cover the cost of their own uniforms, especially when your boss doesn’t tell you that the deductions are taking place. This irked the TikToker, Indie (@indie_kay), so much that she resolved to quit her job as a result.
@indie_kay From the job i quit last summer lmao the owner came in and made a joke they didnt remember employeese names and i was ✌🏻
♬ original sound – Indie
“I’m just gonna say it: I love quitting jobs,” Indie prefaces the clip. “I’m gonna quit a job as much as I want if I don’t like working there. If I don’t like the vibe, I’m gonna quit.”
She then shares her current workplace dilemma.
“I just got charged $13.50 for a work shirt at my new job and they didn’t tell me that they were gonna charge me so I think I’m gonna quit,” she explains.
Indie lists other reasons as to why she was thinking of handing in her walking papers in her current position, which included a co-worker who didn’t maintain safe working conditions and the fact that finding free parking near her job was becoming more and more difficult.
“I’m also quitting this job because there’s like really like no parking,” Indie shares, “and I don’t want to have to pay to park where I work.”
Indie added in a caption for the video, “From the job I quit last summer lmao the owner came in and made a joke they didnt remember employeese names.”
A number of commenters agreed with Indie and supported her decision to quit her job.
“There is nothing more freeing than quitting a job,” one TikToker wrote.
Another commended her for refusing to work for a company that wouldn’t give her a t-shirt to wear to work without charging her for it. “Thank you. These businesses need more people to do this. Let them know they can’t get away with things anymore,” they said.
However, there were others who said that not everyone can afford to leave their jobs. “I’m happy your ok with no job that’s lucky,” one user argued.
Some said that they wish they realized sooner, rather than later, that there was no need to “suffer” in certain jobs in order to make ends meet.
“I was born too soon, I suffered in too many jobs thinking it was necessary,” another commenter penned.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Indie via TikTok comment for further information.
