Hi jasonscott1,
Texas law applies to this situation because the work was performed in
Texas, not Minnesotta.
This is actually fairly common in large corporations. It happens
because no one notifies the Payroll Department before the next checks
are cut. Then, the notice comes from a department that someone has
separated from employment, and the checks were mailed out a few days
prior, so they check the records and mail notices.
Part 1) of your question is fairly simple. You have the right to
inspect the payroll records so you can confirm that this is indeed an
overpayment.
Part 2) The corporation made a mistake that they are seeking to
rectify, your wife was paid more than she was due and hence the
employer has an absolute right to recapture the funds paid in error.
Under Texas Law, the employer has at least three years to discover an
overpayment and then sue. Once a judgment has been entered by the
court for the amount of the overpayment the employer can execute it.
If your wife left the job on March 1st and received a check that day,
it's possible she was actually DUE one more check because it's very
standard to have a lag time between the end of a pay period and the
issuing of wages for that period.
According to Texas Payday Law, if your wife was fired, or left
involuntarily, any pay due her was required to be given to her by the
6th day following the last day worked, and if this was a voluntary
separation, she would receive any final pay on the next regularly
scheduled payday:
Final Pay
http://www.employmentlawadvisors.com/laws/tplweb/tplbscs/final_pay.html
..."the TPL regulates the timing of the final paycheck in section
61.014. If an employee is laid off, discharged, fired, or otherwise
involuntarily separated from employment, the final pay is due within
six (6) calendar days of discharge. If the employee quits, retires,
resigns, or otherwise leave employment voluntarily, the final pay is
due on the next regularly-scheduled payday following the effective
date of resignation..."
Just the same, if this is in fact an overpayment, it must be returned.
Wage Overpayments
http://www.employmentlawadvisors.com/laws/tplweb/tplbscs/wage_overpayments.html
It's not clear here, so open this Power Point Presentation. It states
that overpayments must be repaid. (page 7)
http://www.employmentlawadvisors.com/resources/ppts/tpl-deductions.ppt
There's a bunch of paycheck overpayment threads here:
http://www.laborlawtalk.com/articles_list-paycheck+overpayment.html
Here's a forum discussion that states it very clearly:
Company mistake = extra paychecks for me
http://www.laborlawtalk.com/showthread.php?s=714b19fc4bcd807b2efe3bbb72e65856&t=77354&highlight=payroll+error
I tried to find a more similar situation, the state really doesn't
matter. I was unable to find even ONE state that allows an ex-employee
(or current employee) to keep an overpayment that was the result of a
clerical or computer error.
Your best course of action would be to work out a repayment schedule
with the employer without forcing them to resort to judicial action,
which would most certainly end in a judgment against you, and the
resulting collection fees.
I am not an attorney, so I need to urge you to seek legal advice. If
you open your local yellow pages and call ANY employment attorney and
explain the situation as you did here, I'm confident you will get a
confirmation of my research.
~~Cynthia
Search strategy used at Google:
Texas overpayment wages OR salary "final pay OR check" error OR mistake |
