5 replies to this topic

[Dylan]

Here's a story that bothers me: http://www.star-tele...rylink=hpdigest

 

Yes, the firefighters were overpaid, but it's not their fault they were overpaid. A few other retired firefighters are having to pay the city back through repayment plans. 

[JBB]

Yeah, it sounds crappy, but that's pretty standard policy. Regardless of who made the mistake, the employee is responsible for notifying the employer if they discover overpayment and the money has to be paid back. Just like an employee would expect underpayment to be rectified, an employer has the right to recover unearned wages. I'm surprised they're even having to go to court to make it happen, but I suppose that has to do with them being retired. In my experience, an employer can freely deduct overpayment up to the point that the employee is still at minimum wage.

[Dylan]

Did the firefighters know they were overpaid? If yes, I'm okay with them being asked to repay it.

 

If they didn't know (which is my assumption), they are practically being asked to pay back an involuntary loan. That doesn't sit well with me.

[JBB]

My employer's policy is that each employee is responsible for reviewing their pay regularly, knowing what pay they are expected to receive, and reporting overpayment. I suspect that other companies, including the city, have similar policies. Like I said, it sucks, but that's life. There could be accounting, tax (if the pay isn't wages earned for time worked, should it have been taxed as a bonus), and employment (what's to stop other firefighters from demanding the same pay?) issues with not recovering unearned wages.

[youngalum]

I'm sorry, but anyone would know if they got paid extra $ that wasn't theirs if they pay attention at all.

 

I have a hard time believing they didn't know.

[Not Sure]

Unless it was a substantial amount, I'd have a difficult time determining if I've been over- (or for that matter under-) paid, since much of my income is derived from penalty payments resulting from union agreement violations. My employer does a poor job documenting these payments when they are delayed so it's easy to have extra money show up on the paycheck without clearly knowing the source. Likewise, it's easy to have money missing when the claims are denied or ignored for the 60 days allowed for review. When these penalty claims are paid promptly it's much easier to break down the check.

Once I retire there won't be any more of these claims, just a check from the RRB, so it's not likely to vary from the expected payment.

I don't know if police and firefighters have a similar pay system with claims and penalty payments (they have unions but I don't know if they work under agreements specifying pay for certain tasks or under certain conditions). If they have to fight as hard as we do to get paid what we are promised and owed they have my sympathy.