How can employers hold employees liable for property damage?

Q       We provide laptop computers to all our personnel. Many employees damage them during employment or return them with damage upon leaving employment. What are our options for recouping from employees the costs of repairing or replacing the damaged employer-owned materials?

Basically, the company’s two main options for recuperating losses for damage to company property include previously authorized deductions through payroll and a claim based on property or wrongful act laws. Although Idaho law allows you to make deductions from an employee’s paycheck for damage to company property and for a lawsuit based on negligent or intentional harm to company property, there are issues to consider. The main options presume the damage wasn’t caused by criminal or willful intent, which would need to be addressed separately through local authorities.

The first considerations are related to payroll deductions. A deduction from a nonexempt employee’s paycheck can only be made if written authorization was given before the deduction (e.g., an authorization form at the time the computer was issued) and if the deduction won’t cause the employee to receive less than minimum wage for that pay period.