# payroll overpayments **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 19, 2003, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/payroll-overpayments/182944 "2003-06-19T16:09:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Guapote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Guapote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guapote)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/payroll-overpayments/182944/1 "2003-06-19T16:09:31Z")
I have a co-worker that has been overpayed on her paycheck. What are the repercussions for her keeping quiet about it, and holding the cash in her account? ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/payroll-overpayments/182944/2 "2003-06-19T16:12:46Z")
Her first problem will be that she has to take a remedial spelling course. **overpaid** ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/payroll-overpayments/182944/3 "2003-06-19T16:14:21Z")
Welcome to the boards **Guapote**. In short, she has to give the money back. Period. Pretend you hired someone to clean your gutters for $50. When the job was done you asked your SO to write him a check. Lo and behold, you find out that he was given a $100 check for the $50 job. Do you want the $50 extra back? Sure you do. And you have the right to ask for it back, and he has the obligation to return it. What can happen to her when it’s discovered. Probably she’ll be asked to return the money. If she refuses, I’m sure she can be disciplined, fired and sued for the amount (assuming it’s enough to be worth suing over). Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![LordVor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90ced4/32.png) [@LordVor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LordVor)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/payroll-overpayments/182944/4 "2003-06-19T16:17:26Z")
She’d likely be liable for fraud, and almost definitely fired, when the overpayment came to the attention of the employers. -lv ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/payroll-overpayments/182944/5 "2003-06-19T16:37:14Z")
I work closely with the payroll dept of our large company. When overpayments occur, they are almost always discovered – but sometimes not right away. The only thing that would happen to an employee is that the overpayment would be deducted from their next paycheck. We haven’t, to my knowledge, ever disciplined the employee for not reporting the overpayment because the defense is always, “I didn’t notice I was overpaid.” Plus it’s easy to get the money back if the person is still a paid employee. If the person is no longer employed, we ask for the money back. If they refuse, then it becomes a legal matter (if the overpayment amount is worth it). ---
**Author:** ![pingalondon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/67e7ee/32.png) [@pingalondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pingalondon)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/payroll-overpayments/182944/6 "2003-06-19T16:37:32Z")
They’ll find out and make her pay it back sooner or later, best to 'fess up and sort it all out. Pretending she didn’t notice won’t cut any ice. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/payroll-overpayments/182944/7 "2003-06-19T17:01:08Z")
This happened to me once. On payday I went to the money machine, paid all my bills, etc, than noticed I still had 1441 dollars left. I went to Payroll and asked whether there’d been a mistake. They simply deducted the overpayment from my next pay. ---
**Author:** ![aahala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@aahala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aahala)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/payroll-overpayments/182944/8 "2003-06-19T18:02:12Z")
I agree with the previous posts with these modifications. The fact she was overpaid in the first place would generally indicate there was some confusion or lack of attention in detail. It’s reasonable(but impossible to prove) some accounting errors are never discovered by those in authority. And it isn’t absolutely true the company would go after her. If the overpayment was $15, it would be more cost effective under some circumstances to drop the matter. I am NOT saying she should ignore it, just it’s less than certain she will be required to repay. ---
**Author:** ![3waygeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e95f7d/32.png) [@3waygeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3waygeek)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/payroll-overpayments/182944/9 "2003-06-19T18:46:54Z")
Maybe she won’t have to pay it back. This exact situation happened to me 11 years ago – being a honest person, I immediately pointed it out to the office manager. She admitted it was a mistake, but decided to keep paying me at the higher rate since I was doing such a great job. Of course, this was a 6-person software company that was doing reasonably well at the time, and I was the most productive programmer there; in a larger company, that probably won’t fly. At any rate, the co-worker should definitely talk to payroll, the sooner the better. ---
**Author:** ![Cillasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Cillasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cillasi)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/payroll-overpayments/182944/10 "2003-06-19T19:47:20Z")
She is liable to repay the money PLUS any interest she might have earned on the money (unjust enrichment). ---
**Author:** ![GTPhD1996](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/97f17d/32.png) [@GTPhD1996](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GTPhD1996)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/payroll-overpayments/182944/11 "2003-06-19T23:49:44Z")
This happened to me in September. I told the person in payroll. The amount was deducted from my next check. GTPhD1996