Shrinkage

Not surprisingly, the last entry on stealing has created some controversy.
I'm in Florida right now, and used a small airline to get here. The airline has low fares in part because they do not serve complimentary items. During the flight, attendants roll a beverage cart down the isle and sell drinks, snacks, and souvenirs. An employee mentioned that people sometimes steal items from the carts and these items must be paid for by the flight attendants.
That sounds unreasonable and unfair, so I looked it up to see if it's legal. Turns out...it depends on the state.
This company is based in Florida, where there are no paycheck garnishment laws, but many other states make it illegal. For example, here is the law for Kentucky:

Kentucky law on wage deductions:
Kentucky - KRS statute 337.060

ILLEGAL DEDUCTIONS
No employer shall withhold from any employee's wages any part of the agreed wage rate; unless
(a) the employer is required to do so by local, state, or federal law
(b) when a deduction is expressly authorized in writing by the employee to cover insurance premiums, hospital, or medical dues
(c) other deductions not amounting to a rebate or deduction from the standard wage arrived at by collective bargaining or pursuant to wage agreement or statute
(d) deductions for union dues where such deductions are authorized by joint wage agreements or collective bargaining contracts negotiated between employers and employees or their representatives.

No employer shall deduct the following from the wages of employees:
(a) Fines
(b) Cash shortages in a common money till, cash box or register used by two (2) or more persons
(c) Breakage
(d) Losses due to acceptance by an employee of checks which are subsequently dishonored if such employee is given discretion to accept or reject any check
(e) Losses due to defective or faulty workmanship, lost or stolen property, damage to property, default of customer credit or nonpayment for goods or services received by the customer if such losses are not attributable to employee's willful or intentional disregard of employer's interest

It seems really unfair, (probably because it is) that a company can charge its employees for items that are lost, stolen, or damaged through no fault of their own. That means that if a can of soda is damaged on the airplane due to factory fault, or turbulence, or...whatever...that the flight attendant has to pay for it? Unfortunately, yes. I don't know what the exact policy of this airline is. Perhaps the employees can comp a damaged item but not a stolen one.
The good news is, this is not a national phenomenon. Also, no employer can dock an employees pay so that it goes below minimum wage. So if you're on shift and someone steals a high-price item, your boss can't deny you a check. You must receive at least minimum wage, which also varies state-by-state.
Here is the break-down on North Carolina law, which is very similar the Florida law. Here is the link to each states Department of Labor websites, where you can look up each individual state's laws regarding wage deductions and garnishments. Look for links that say "Wage and Hour" acts.

I've had a few people contact me with claims that "stealing goes against Freeganism", and that taking trash out of dumpsters is the only thing that counts. I want to remind everyone that dumpster diving is illegal. Dumpsters are on private property and if you take something out of them, you are stealing. That's why so many Freegan websites, books, and zines caution divers to go at night, keep a low profile, and generally not be sketchy. You can get into legal trouble for going into a company trash can.
Shrinkage is what businesses call the loss of items due to theft, loss, or damage. If an item is damaged because the stocker drops it, it goes into the trash, where a Freegan might choose to steal it. If an item rolls under the frozen pizza cooler and disappears, it's chalked up to shrinkage. If an item is taken from the shelf (stolen), that's part of shrinkage too. Although I want to make it clear that taking things from the shelf is not something I recommend or support, I do want to point out that taking it from the dumpster is just as illegal.

I'm currently sitting in a cafe in Florida and have a friend waiting on me to finish this rant, so I'm going to wrap it up for now. I just wanted to point a couple of things out real quick while I had some internet access. I'll elaborate on this later. Thanks for reading!