Amend SB 777 by striking all below the enacting clause and
substituting the following:
      SECTION 1.  Section 61.018, Labor Code, is amended to read as
follows:
      Sec. 61.018.  DEDUCTION FROM WAGES.  An employer may not
withhold or divert any part of an employee's wages unless the
employer:
            (1)  is ordered to do so by a court of competent
jurisdiction;
            (2)  is authorized to do so by state or federal law;
<or>
            (3)  has written authorization from the employee to
deduct part of the wages for a lawful purpose; or
            (4)  is authorized to do so for reimbursement under
Section 61.0185.
      SECTION 2.  Subchapter B, Chapter 61, Labor Code, is amended
by adding Section 61.0185 to read as follows:
      Sec. 61.0185.  WAGE DEDUCTIONS TO REIMBURSE EMPLOYER.
(a)  Notwithstanding Section 42.001, Property Code, an employer may
withhold from any part of an employee's wages without authorization
from the employee a sum of money equal to the amount necessary to
reimburse the employer for:
            (1)  misappropriation by the employee in which the
employee obtained money from the employer without authorization;
            (2)  the overpayment of wages or another form of pay to
the employee regardless of the reason for the overpayment, if the
wage, salary, or other compensation agreement is in writing and
signed by the employer and employee;
            (3)  a loan in connection with the employee's
employment made by the employer to the employee;
            (4)  a wage advance from the employer to the employee;
or
            (5)  the reasonable cost to the employer of any benefit
received or obtained by the employee from the employer that the
employee failed to authorize the employer in writing to deduct from
the employee's wages.
      (b)  To withhold wages under Subsection (a), an employer must
show that a deduction from wages under Subsection (a) is permitted
by providing clear and convincing evidence or, if the deduction is
for a misappropriation under Subsection (a)(1), by a written
acknowledgement from the employee that the employee obtained the
money without authorization.
      (c)  A deduction from wages to reimburse an employer for a
loan or wage advance shall be permitted according to the terms of
any written agreement between the employer and employee.  A loan
for which the repayment period exceeds one year must be evidenced
by a written repayment agreement signed by the employee or a person
legally authorized to sign for the employee.
      (d)  Unless a written agreement provides otherwise, an
employer may deduct from an employee's final paycheck the amount
of the loan or advance that is unpaid on the employee's separation
date if the deduction is permitted under Subsection (c).
      (e)  An employer making a deduction from wages under this
section must provide written notice to the employee of the reason
for each deduction.  The notice must be delivered to the employee
not later than the scheduled payday for the wages from which the
deduction is to be made.
      (f)  An employer that makes a deduction from wages that is
not in accordance with the requirements of this section or Section
61.018 is subject to an administrative penalty under Section
61.053.
      (g)  In this section, "benefit" means anything of monetary
value, other than compensation for personal services, that an
employee requests and obtains from an employer and elects to
retain, in the following categories:
            (1)  benefits relating to the participation by the
employee or the employee's family in a health or legal insurance
plan;
            (2)  benefits relating to a pension or retirement plan
that is maintained for the benefit of the employee and in which the
employee has elected to participate;
            (3)  goods or services purchased on credit from the
employer for the personal use and convenience of the employee; or
            (4)  the personal, nonwork-related use of materials,
supplies, or equipment, other than materials, supplies, or
equipment that is customarily furnished by the employer for the
convenience of an employee during a rest or meal period, that
belongs to the employer and the use of which results in a charge or
expense that is incurred by the employer.
      (h)  The use by an employee of materials, supplies, or
equipment under Subsection (g)(4), the use of which is at the
election of and for the convenience of the  employee, is considered
to have been requested and obtained by the employee from the
employer.
      SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997, and
applies only to a claim for wages that arises on or after that
date.  A claim for wages that arises before the effective date of
this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the claim
arises, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
      SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.