These days, it feels so rare to see people honestly own up to their mistakes, especially those in positions of power. Unfortunately for one Illinois firm’s employee, the company did not handle a huge oversight very well. For over an entire year, the business had been paying its account manager several hundred dollars more than his base paycheck. Naturally, he assumed it was compensation for taking on additional responsibilities and doing a good overall job. However, this extra pay came to a halt when HR called him in over his $8,700 “payroll error,” and he will have to pay it all back.
“Apparently, someone entered a recurring bonus code that was meant for a different employee in a different department, and it just kept running for over a year without anyone catching it,” the employee explained on r/legaladvice. Now, the company is forcing him to sign an agreement that demands full repayment within 60 days. However, the worker has a big problem.
“I didn’t save that money,” he regrettably admits. The extra money he received over the year was spent on covering debt, medical expenses, and even some recreational traveling. But now, “I genuinely don’t have $6,200 sitting somewhere I can just hand back,” OP pleads. He refused to sign because, although the agreement would be a reduction to his contract’s base salary, he’d still be shouldering the hefty load of extra work that’s been given to him over the past year.
At this point, he has considered quitting to be a better option than trying to deal with the financial and mental stress from this situation, of which he’s not at fault in the slightest. Even though he did everything right, he ends up the one to suffer, revealing the kind of culture the company really has. Unfortunately, the post’s comment section doesn’t provide many ideal options. As one person suggests, “You can negotiate a deal. They can’t deduct anything without consent,” according to the law. However, the company could still just fire the employee and then sue him.
“Watch out for tax implications as well,” suggests another commenter. “Since it was for over a year it has affected at least one full or nearly full tax year.” That said, if OP wishes to stay with his company, an ideal solution would be to negotiate a longer payment deadline as opposed to 60 days, according to the comment section. Still, it’s outrageous that their staff made a mistake affecting the employee, then expects him to fix it at his expense.
