[CPA CMA]

I work for a small firm about 15-20 staff. The management is really petty, I was told they will deduct the AICPA membership fee they paid for me from my last paycheck after I gave out my notice. Is it even legal for them to do that? I did not see anything regarding that in the personnel guide. Help please!

Master of Professional Accountancy (MPA) 12/17/2014

BEC 76 (10/3/14)
FAR 75 (10/24/14)
REG 83 (4/6/15)
AUD 75 (4/20/15)
Anticipated Licensure: August 2016

CMA part 1 passed (6/15/15)
CMA part 2 Passed (9/4/15)
Anticipated Licensure: August 2017

[Recked]

I would probably just let it slide, its not really worth the hassle.
Or if you feel vindictive enough, call your states department of labor. They would likely have a field day with the withholding of wages if it weren't legally allowed in your state.

Who puts in notice AFTER busy season? That's crazy.

[fuzyfro89]

Doesn't sound like it is. Unless you had agreed to reimburse them for the expense somewhere (may have been buried in your employment agreement or somewhere else), they can't unilaterally decide that you will reimburse business expenses.

To your question, is it worth fighting back? Depends. In a small firm, it's likely you can't go to “HR” and have them basically handle these types of things… it will likely come back to your supervisor or the firm leads. If you need a reference and see this as an easy way to just let it go, then I would consider that. Guessing the AICPA fees are something like ~$100?

If you are short on cash, or morally upset about it, then you can likely go for it.

Levels of “pushback”:
1) let it go. Move on. It's $100. Consider it like 2 parking tickets and move on with your life.
2) Send a “stern” email. At least make them confirm in writing that it is within their policy, or you agreed to it somehow and they are not just deciding on their own that they want to withholding the fees from you after the fact.
3) Follow up with your state business bureau / labor board and file a complaint . Not sure if you can do this beforehand or if this needs to be done after the fact.

[Anonymous]

Since they were “kind” enough to pay it for you in the first place, I am pretty sure they have every right to deduct it. I know, it is super petty. Now, if they withheld your paycheck until you paid them back, that would be illegal. If you want, you can call the DOL and ask but pretty sure your former employer can deduct it from you.

[Recked]

I think it's about $275 for a staff member.
https://www.aicpa.org/membership/dues.html

Depending on how much you currently make this may be material to you.
fuzyfro89 makes a good point about references. I'll assume you are not stupid enough to quit BEFORE you have another job lined up, where you would still need this employer to either vouch as a reference, or possibly sign off on work experience in the future.
Dropping the dime to the DOL would probably provide you with a lifetime's worth of bad karma. Maybe you can take sit at your desk and stare at the wall for $300 worth of your salary to make it an even trade off. Or post on this forum on company time…

[Recked]

what state are you in?

[CPA CMA]

I live in state of SD, and yes it is not material to me but they also deduct state CPA society membership fee which totals about $400+. I use a different firm I worked for as my references so I don't really need them to do that for me. It's just petty and pisses me off, that's all.

Master of Professional Accountancy (MPA) 12/17/2014

BEC 76 (10/3/14)
FAR 75 (10/24/14)
REG 83 (4/6/15)
AUD 75 (4/20/15)
Anticipated Licensure: August 2016

CMA part 1 passed (6/15/15)
CMA part 2 Passed (9/4/15)
Anticipated Licensure: August 2017

[Author]

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