Military pay, over payment

[sammoore]

My civilian job over paid me the percentage of the differential pay that was owed to me while on Military orders. They are requesting it back now. They are wanting to go back 3 years for paycheck pay. They are refiguring my PTO and want to charge me for PTO days that I took those years that they now say I did not accrue and want to charge me those days. As I am leaving soon for deployment, the only way to pay back those days is to take it from my paycheck, rather then taking it from future days I would accrue next year. I have asked if they will correct my W2's to reflect this, and if we can arrange a payment plan. They are being REAL direct and basicly telling me that they have not worked out the details yet. But I will adhere to what they tell me.
My question: can they do this being it's their error? Can they demand a dollar amount per pay check and put my family in financial turmoil? Do they have to correct my prior W2's to reflect the correct amount which will put me in a lower tax bracket? This doesn't seem fair nor legal.

 

[jharris352]

My guess is they need your permission to do this. If you don't agree they will likely need a judgment.

 

[Patricia_Young]

Actually, in Florida, no they wouldn't. Florida has basically NO wage payment laws.

The fact that is was the employer's error does not mean they cannot request you pay it back. Should they make arrangements for a payment plan? Personally, I think they should, but that's just my opinion; the law does not require they do so. Are they proposing they take your entire paycheck remaining? They may have to leave you with at least minimum wage, but even that is questionable. Federal law would likely see this as nothing more than an advance against salary.

They can only "correct your W-2", at least for 2009, for the portion of the overpayment that is actually paid back in 2009.

 

[sammoore]

I have no problem with paying it back. Its their money. My idea is the fact that I have been with them for 9 years. My wife now works for the same company and has for 4 years. I have always planed on staying there. So its not like im going to quit. How about not making payments so large. lets make it up over a couple of years and not in 6 months.

 

[Patricia_Young]

Two years is a very long time, and as a payroll manager for some large companies for a number of years, I would never agree to two years. Six months is, IMHO, quite acceptable. How much money are we talking about in relation to your monthly salary?

 

[sammoore]

Could be around $10,000. This over payment took place over a 3-4 year term. My normal pay is only around 38k a year. So 10k a year is tough.

 

[Patricia_Young]

Could be around $10,000. This over payment took place over a 3-4 year term. My normal pay is only around 38k a year. So 10k a year is tough.

Ouch. Then maybe 18-24 months would be reasonable. If I were the employer, however, I would write off at least some of this to "we should have audited our records more carefully and it's our own dayum fault". But that's just me. :angel If I were the employer, I would also write up a detailed agreement of the repayment terms and address what happens should you terminate before it's all paid off.

 

[Green_Hornet]

It would be difficult to file a judgment on you while on active duty under the Service member Civil Relief Act (SSCRA) (previously Solider Sailor Civil Relief Act). The SSCRA provided a number of significant protections to service members. These include: staying court hearings if military service materially affects service members' ability to defend their interests.