My Job Overpaid Me & Is Trying to Recoup the Pay
Hi there!
Few facts to consider before getting into the details:
- I am aware I am obligated to repay the $, no concerns with that, totally understand
- I am an exempt EE (gross biweekly pay is $3750)
- I am working in Connecticut, USA
- After taxes / withholdings, my take-home net pay is $2,200
I am a part of a rotational program and was offered a $10,000 sign on bonus when I started. As of a few days ago, a new wave of rotational employees joined the business. Unexpectedly, they processed a second bonus check to me when processing theirs. I immediately made my head of comp aware as well as my rotational leader.
I received an email today saying they are resolving this issue by withholding $2,000 from the next 5 paychecks to repay the amount.
A few things stand out to me that I want to address with the team but want to make sure I’m not talking out of my ass here…
- Why would I repay $10,000 when I did not receive that full amount due to taxes? Would I not just take the total of the check & subtract my normal salary amount to understand the difference in pay and give them that amount?
- Should they not consult me to agree on this total withholding amount? This was sent to me via email.. nothing to sign. No questions on how I wanted to do this.. Just a short email telling me what was happening and that it would start next paycheck..? I don’t feel comfortable moving forward without some sort of agreement in case of any tax errors in my W2.
- Not 100% confident on this one.. so let me know if I’m way off base here.. Is this legally allowed? I read somewhere that withholdings for incorrect/overpayments totals cannot cause your check to be less than the minimum wage. Does this apply to GROSS or NET pay? Meaning they could take $3750 - $2000 =$1,750.00 and it be legal bc my gross is more than the minimum wage (80hrs x 16.94 [CT MW] = 1,355 total pay…)?
- Surely there has to be a better way I can repay this.. surely. I would much rather pay the amount upfront by taking the check with the error (salary pay + 10k bonus) and subtract my normal check amount and have them reverse my paycheck and then reissue and off cycle paycheck of my normal pay (no bonus)… right??? I feel this would be easiest from a tax perspective as well. PLS leave suggestions that will require me to pay it all up front to avoid only taking home $200 for the next ten weeks worth of paychecks.
TYSMIA!!!!