Repaying overdrawn vacation after resignation

Mabuse03

New Member
Jurisdiction
Nebraska
I am in the process of resigning from a job, and we have one of those vacation policies where we are allotted a lump sum at the beginning of the year to use, but we then accrue our right to it over the following months. It says in our handbook that any overdrawn balance will be deducted from our final check, but I don't think my final check will be enough to cover what I owe. I have no problem paying back what I owe but I want to make sure I don't get screwed over in the process.

So my questions are, if I owe more back in overdrawn vacation than my final paycheck, can they give me a zero dollar final paycheck? And as far as the remainder, do I owe them back the pre-tax or post-tax amount? And if my direct deposit agreement authorizes them to debit overpayments and errors, does this count as an overpayment and they can just debit my bank account for whatever else they think I owe them? I don't want to have money leaving my account that I can't budget for ahead of time and end up overdrawn.

This isn't something I can really go to our lone HR person about, as her harassing me is the reason for my resignation. So I'm curious what the law says in this situation.
 
I can answer most of your questions and I'm sure there are others here who can answer what I can't.

First, they cannot take your entire check. Nebraska minimum wage is $9.00 per hour - they must pay you at least $9.00 times hours worked.

Your direct deposit agreement does NOT give them the right to simply go into your bank account and take whatever they want. They can reverse the entire deposit (although they can only do so within five days of the deposit) but it's an all-or-nothing proposition; either they take back the exact amount that was deposited or they don't take anything at all. If they do reverse it, it can only be because there is an error with the original deposit and it must be replaced by either a new deposit or a live check in the correct amount. It's been twenty years since I last did Payroll, however, and I can no longer remember the time frame they have in which to do so.

Pre-tax versus post tax depends on whether or not you repay them in the same calendar year or a subsequent one, but again I can no longer remember which is which and it's too early in the morning for me to work it out. I can think of at least four regular posters who probably can answer it right off the top of their heads, however.

The Nebraska Department of Labor is the regulatory agency you would address any issues with.
 
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