Get official paperwork first, then withhold.

Byline: ON THE JOB by Bureau of Labor and Industries For The Register-Guard

Question: We received notice that one of our employees recently received a court order against him for child support, and that his wages will have to be garnished to satisfy the order, but we haven't received all of the official paperwork necessary to calculate the amount to withhold from each of his paychecks.

Since we only pay employees once a month, I suggested hanging on to his next paycheck for a couple of weeks until we have everything we need, but the payroll supervisor says we can't do that. She says we need to keep giving him his regular paycheck until the garnishment is official and we have all the documentation we need to calculate the amount of the garnishment. The employee's kids have obviously been going without while he's been living it up and neglecting his child support obligations, so I feel like it's no big deal to make this deadbeat dad wait for his paycheck! Especially since his kids will finally start getting some of the child support due to them sooner rather than later. Who's in the right, me or the payroll supervisor?

Answer: The payroll supervisor. Oregon law requires employers to establish and maintain regular paydays every 35 days or less (ORS 652.120). There is no exception for an employer to delay the paycheck due to a pending garnishment order, even if the delay is expected to be short. Based on some of your comments and your reference to the employee as a "deadbeat dad," it sounds as if you might also need to be reminded that it is illegal employment discrimination to treat an employee differently because his wages are being garnished, regardless of the reason behind the garnishment order.

Question: Our company has hired a new accounting firm to start doing our books. The new accountant has suggested that the company would save a lot of staff time and money if we switched from paper to electronic pay stubs that employees would be able to access on the company's computer network. I'm nervous about switching because employees would no longer get a paper hard copy of their pay stubs.

The new accountant also suggested changing over from our current practice of handing out paychecks to automatically depositing paychecks to employees' bank accounts to cut back on costs and paper pushing. Can we implement either of the accountant's suggestions without creating legal liability? I'm always cautious about changing things related to paychecks because I know there are a lot of laws about when and how employees need to be paid.

Answer: The answer is the same for each of the new paycheck systems you are considering. An employer may provide electronic pay stubs in lieu of the traditional paper pay stubs and also may directly deposit paychecks in an employee's bank account - as long as the employee has provided the employer with advance, voluntary consent to do either one (or both).

Employers may replace traditional paper paycheck stubs with electronic pay stubs if: 1) the employee agrees; 2) the employees are able to readily access the information when payday rolls around; and 3) employees are able to print or store the electronic record for future reference.

If your company decides to go the electronic pay stub route, be careful to set up a system that allows employees access which is limited to their own individual wage statements.

Regarding direct deposit, Oregon employers should not make direct deposits mandatory. ORS 652.110 provides "an employer and an employee may agree to authorize an employer" to pay wages due to the employee by direct deposit. BOLI interprets this to mean that employers may not require existing employees to switch from receiving paychecks to receiving a direct deposit. However, employers may obtain each employee's voluntary consent to accept direct deposit paychecks in lieu of handing them out the "old fashioned" way.

If an employer utilizes electronic pay stubs or direct deposit, employee wages must nevertheless be received by employees "without discount" (ORS 652.110), which means that employers may not charge a transaction fee for any electronic transactions related to employee paychecks.

It is important for you to keep in mind that the strict final paycheck deadlines apply regardless of what method of payment your company utilizes. If an employee has agreed to direct deposit, it is acceptable to directly deposit his or her final paycheck as long as the employer meets the applicable deadline. (You may review the final paycheck deadlines on BOLI's Web site at www.oregon.gov/boli.)

On The Job is written by the staff of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries. Contact BOLI at [phone], or BOLI, 800 N.E. Oregon St. No. 32, Portland, OR 97232.