Austin company looking to dock paychecks for those receiving stimulus checks

[LiberalArkie]

AUSTIN (KXAN) – While Congress was working out the details on a bill that would provide Americans with stimulus checks, at least one Austin company was looking for ways to save payroll.

“The form says they are preemptively deducting funds from our paychecks. That number is based on what they’re anticipating the government relief fund to be,” a worker for the company told KXAN. The worker asked not to be identified in this investigation so as not to impact his company’s ability to continue doing business.

The worker said his company emailed a form titled “Employee Acknowledgement of ‘Government Assistance’ Pay Reduction” to some staffers on Wednesday. “In response to the economic crisis that is affecting all of us due to the coronavirus pandemic…(company name redacted) are hereby enacting the Employee Emergency Compensation Fund,” the letter stated.

The agreement would put workers under a “temporary compensation reduction that is in line with the assistance that it receives from the federal government related to the COVID-19 pandemic.” By signing the agreement, the company’s employees would have their paychecks between April 6 and April 20 cut by 100% of any money received under the stimulus bill

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https://www.kxan.com/news/austin-company-looking-to-dock-paychecks-for-those-receiving-stimulus-checks/

[Xipe Totec]

1. Wage theft. nt

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. Don't sign. NT

[Skittles]

3. I don't see how this is legal

[magicarpet]

4. Do the bastards pocket the money from the check they stiff the employee ?

Or do they take the amount of the pay check and forward the money to the government ?

The company should not realize a gain on this transaction.

[McCamy Taylor]

5. They are stealing their government checks!

Someone call the Texas Workforce Commission. There is no way that this is legal. The business can apply for a business subsidy. They cannot steal their employee's relief.

[2naSalit]

11. +1

[lunasun]

6. It's not their money to take

[Bev54]

7. Must be republican

trying to grift more.

[Thomas Hurt]

8. F**king thieves

[niyad]

9. First-what utterly despicable scum. Second, where the $$$$$$$ HELL do they think they can legally

not only steal the money, but do it preemptively????

Bet they. Are applying for all the business largesse available to them,

[AJT]

10. I assume, since the government checks are supposed to help those

who have lost their jobs or been laid off, the company feels that people still working don't need the extra money and it would help the company stay afloat to subtract an amount equal to the government subsidy out of the working employees pay would be acceptable.

I don't know the circumstances of the company, so I can't make a judgment on the decision.

[Coronacrime]

12. What company is this? Pizza Hut?

Sounds like it’s a restaurant chain with HQ in TX. Based on the copy of the form that was shared, it appears that the company name ends in a “t”. See form below and the blacked out area at the start of paragraph 2:

https://www.kxan.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2020/03/stealing_my_relief_fund.pdf

Maybe it’s Pizza Hut? That’s the only one I can think of...

[TexasBushwhacker]

13. Pizza Hut is owned by Yum Brands

[Coronacrime]

14. True... any thoughts on who it is then

[TexasBushwhacker]

15. I don't really know. I looked at the lists of biggest employers

in Austin and couldn't find one that ended in a "t".