What are the legal options when a company overpays an employee by 33% for 1 yr?

[trmiv]

You didn't notice it? Like others, I don't believe that for a second. I'm betting if she started working 50 hours a week and was only getting paid for 40 you would have noticed it.

 

[dainthomas]

No need. Our company just went through the same thing due to an ADP error. We consulted our lawyers and they said we have the right to take the money back. Obviously we thought about the consequences of pissing off half our employees so we let them keep it (it was ~8% overpayment over 9 months to non-exempt employees).

But of course they got pissed off after we told them they were getting overpaid and we had to adjust their pay down

So you fixed the glitch?

 

[kalrith]

No need. Our company just went through the same thing due to an ADP error. We consulted our lawyers and they said we have the right to take the money back. Obviously we thought about the consequences of pissing off half our employees so we let them keep it (it was ~8% overpayment over 9 months to non-exempt employees).

But of course they got pissed off after we told them they were getting overpaid and we had to adjust their pay down

Well, it turns out that something similar is going to happen. My wife just told me that they're just going to adjust her pay immediately (to 30 hours like it should've been all along) and we're not going to have to pay it back. Her boss is obviously not happy, so hopefully that won't have negative ramifications down the road.

 

[Engineer]

Question: If she has to pay it back, does that not effect things like local, state and federal taxes? What about 401k type pensions?

Would the OP's wife have to pay back the entire amount and if so, how would taxes, etc. be adjusted as the OP's wife now paid taxes on money not received. Would this years pay be lowered to reflect or would a 1040X be filed? How about the 401k type % pensions?

This could be a read headache...

 

[NesuD]

I may be wrong but it seems there was a time limit on how far back a compny could go to recover overpaid wages. That may be a state thing. Not really certain on the details or if that is even the actual case but a call to your state lbor dept could probably clarify that for you. With that being said I don't for a second believe your wife didn't notice that she was being overpaid. That is just beyond believable. If you have any integrity you will pay it back. Not doing so is tantamount to larceny.

 

[MotF Bane]

So you fixed the glitch?

:thumbsup:

 

[SphinxnihpS]

update: Her employer is run by morons!

So my wife and I are crooks...

qft

 

[FelixDeCat]

The fact of the matter is most people posting in this thread are way overpaid already!

 

[allisolm]

Her boss is obviously not happy, so hopefully that won't have negative ramifications down the road.

Hmmm... what negative ramifications could there possibly be considering that the boss probably thinks she is either criminally stupid or just criminal?

 

[QueBert]

You didn't notice it? Like others, I don't believe that for a second. I'm betting if she started working 50 hours a week and was only getting paid for 40 you would have noticed it.

It's not hard, my old job I did direct deposit, I had all my bills set up to auto pay & I never checked how much $$$ I had in my bank account. One month I got a bonus check I didn't know deposited. I didn't realize until almost 9 months later. I had zero reason to check my bank account since my bills never changed. With that said, they could have shorted me every check and I wouldn't have known unless it was enough to give me a negative balance and fuck up my bill pay. I'm always amazed by people I know who check their bank account every day for seemingly no reason.

 

[SunnyD]

Yeah I'm not buying it either. Everyone I've ever met checks every pay check they ever get.

orly?

I check my actual pay stub maybe once or twice a year. I get direct deposit, and it's completely paperless. For me to log into ADP every week is just another pain in the ass I don't have time for.

 

[Vette73]

orly?

I check my actual pay stub maybe once or twice a year. I get direct deposit, and it's completely paperless. For me to log into ADP every week is just another pain in the ass I don't have time for.

So if you had 25% MORE or LESS than you were supposed to get you would not notice? Are you the type to not check your account and goover and get mad they charged you a idiot fee?

I know I get $1733.XX every 2 weeks. If its more or less I would look into it.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Update: They're not making us pay it back.

My wife's always been on salary, and she used to work 40 hours per week. She dropped to 30 hours per week, and her pay was supposed to drop to 75% of what it used to be. However, it didn't drop, and we didn't notice it. Her boss just noticed it, contacted HR, and said, "It's "really not good."

I haven't heard what they plan to do, but I'm wondering what (if any) are my legal options here. They mistakingly overpaid her. Do we have to legally pay back the difference? Can they dock her pay for the foreseeable future? I know that they can drop her to minimum wage any time they want, but if she went to another job, would she still have to repay the extra wages?

Thanks!

When it comes to money, you must have been the book-keeper. Humans are all about their compensation. For someone to claim that they didn't notice anything for an entire year just isn't going to be bought.

I had a friend that quit his job to go work elsewhere. The company is really big (>>100K employees) and the reporting of termination can be confusing. He mentioned a month ahead of time to his supervisor and his area manager. He continued to receive a paycheck for six more periods (~6 weeks).

It was six months later that his former employer claimed that on no error on his part a mistake was made and demanded repayment. But they were not just seeking the net amount, but the entire gross amount including all deductions. He paid them back exactly what they paid him and offered to go to the IRS and DOL about it, and they accepted his offer.

Of course, what can you expect from the Death Star of Telecommunications? :awe: