An Arkansas woman in Jonesboro has sparked debate after being charged with a theft felony for keeping wages she was overpaid. According to KAIT8, she received almost $20,000 for a 12-hour shift; the system accidentally changed her $16.50 hourly to $1,650 an hour. The woman was arrested after refusing to return the money, but many online users feel she wasn’t in the wrong.
The former employee has been charged with a Class C felony for stealing funds from her employer. However, since she was given this amount as a paycheck, Redditors on r/BlackPeopleofReddit claim she’s actually paying for her business’s mistake. On the other hand, some argue she allegedly agreed to $16.50 an hour, so keeping the overpayment breaks that agreement.
“If we make a mistake, it’s our fault, and we can be taken to court for it. If they make a mistake, it’s our fault, and we can be taken to court for it,” sighed a commenter. Another user responded with the argument that her agreement with the employer’s payroll department was assumed. “They should have followed protocol for debt collection… not criminal charges for an error on their own making,” they remarked.
One person did their best to explain the situation, to which hundreds upvoted in agreement: “She wasn’t charged with a felony for the overpayment. She was charged with a felony for not returning it.” They also noted that, under the law, overpayment of wages is considered an “advance” and should be returned.
The Government Claims She Should Have Not Expected to Keep the Overpayment
As to what the U.S. Department of Commerce says, the woman was responsible for informing her boss about the error and had little chance of keeping the money from technical fault, based on her situation. It states: “When an employee is cognizant of an error, which results in an overpayment, and informs the agency of the error, he or she may not expect to retain the overpayment without making a refund when the error is corrected.”
While the employer is in the right in the law’s eyes, plenty of online users think otherwise; on the other hand, a handful criticize the woman for ever taking the risk in the first place. As one commenter puts it, “Free money is a trap, don’t fall for it. Mistake or not its them who have the bigger lawyers and the preference in court.”
