Is this legal? Furious right now!!!

Nurses General Nursing

Published

The hospital I work at recently gave everyone in the hospital a raise. When I opened my pay slip today, I was surprised to see that I was getting a raise from $13.36 to 13.65. I've been making $13.76 for over a year! I called the error to the attention of the payroll department and was told that I should have only been making the $13.36. They also told me that I will have to pay back the extra 40ยข an hour they've been giving me. I have a copy of my last raise slip that says I was to get a raise from $11.76 to $13.76...$2.00 was the average amount of the last raise they gave...

So now, instead of a raise, I am technically taking a CUT in pay and they are going to take $16 a week out of my checks for the next 18 months!

I am mad enough to quit right now...sigh...

Can they do that? I have proof that I was supposed to me making the $13.76...I would have questioned it 18 months ago if I'd thought there was an error!

Well...it ended up with my friend the lawyer going to bat for me with the hospital. Legally, they can expect me to pay back the amount that I was over paid. The way it was explained to me, it was the hospital's fault, but I still have to give the money back. They compared it to under billing a patient. If they forgot to add a room charge for a patient for three days, when they discovered the error six months later, they would have the right to re-bill. Since they discovered they were over paying me, they have the right to recover that money. So...I'll be getting $16 a week deducted from my paychecks for the next 18 months. Either I agree to it voluntarily or they can go to court and have my wages garnished. I agreed to let them takeit because having a garnishment looks terrible on a credit report. So, more or less I got sort of screwed. My manager did say that if I want to come in and do paperwork like chart reviews for a few hours a week I can to offset what they are deducting. Probably going to stay an extra hour every shift...we work three days a week, so not too big of a deal.

That's too bad. I'm sorry to hear it didn't work out to your benefit......at least your manager sounds cool about letting you work some extra hours to offset the expense....

Specializes in Geriatrics/Oncology/Psych/College Health.

Well, cotjockey, I am sorry to hear they did in fact have the legal "right" even if morally it reeks. Seriously would consider whether or not I wanted to continue a relationship an employer who would treat their employees in this fashion. (As someone else indicated, it's not as tho you got this sudden outrageous amount of money you should have KNOWN wasn't coming to you - you accepted the $ in good faith.)

If you quit, you'd still have to pay back the money, but you have to anyway apparently. If I did sever employment for that reason, I would have a hard time not notifying the employer WHY, altho I would resist the urge so it didn't come back to bite me later.

Side note: a friend was consistently SHORTED by a small amount over a period of time that built up into a large amount. By the time she discovered it, she never saw dime one as the employer said she should have caught it sooner. Guess mistake correction only goes in one direction.

Anyway, my $.02. Sorry your mgt stinks :(.

Cot Jockey,

Sorry it worked out that way.

Although, I am confused on one point.

When you had your review and your super. or whom ever told you and wrote down that you were going to receive said amount of raise and you were given it, doesn't that still bind your employer to that amount?

I mean, if this is the case, then can't any employer in any field garnish wages from their employees at any time and just say it was a 'mistake' even though they were told in writing that they would get said salary?

The hospital's logic was that it was human error. A small enough error that no one caught it for 18 months but still simple human error. They told me that if I was cut a check for $8790 instead of $879, I would know it was an error and be obligated to point it out and not keep the extra...same thing even though I did not notice the error.

Giving the right approach to this matter it is not necessarily make its way up to the court. your copy of their notice for salary increase speaks more than enough for everything untoward.It sure does bear a signatory right? let that person stand to speak up to your advantage to them that try to nullify what he has given authority for action. Let them suffer the consequence of their action and never let them continue on with their idea of a solution that took its way to bother you much.

ywee

I think you should get the lawyer to ask for a few thousand to cover your mental anquish.

I was going to post sooner and got sidetracked. I'd found out that it is indeed legal for an employer to take money back for an error THEY made. Doesn't seem at all right, but it is legit.

Specializes in Case Management, Home Health, UM.
Originally posted by cotjockey

Well...it ended up with my friend the lawyer going to bat for me with the hospital. Legally, they can expect me to pay back the amount that I was over paid. The way it was explained to me, it was the hospital's fault, but I still have to give the money back. They compared it to under billing a patient. If they forgot to add a room charge for a patient for three days, when they discovered the error six months later, they would have the right to re-bill. Since they discovered they were over paying me, they have the right to recover that money. So...I'll be getting $16 a week deducted from my paychecks for the next 18 months. Either I agree to it voluntarily or they can go to court and have my wages garnished. I agreed to let them takeit because having a garnishment looks terrible on a credit report. So, more or less I got sort of screwed. My manager did say that if I want to come in and do paperwork like chart reviews for a few hours a week I can to offset what they are deducting. Probably going to stay an extra hour every shift...we work three days a week, so not too big of a deal.

This really sucks. :(

I had an employer pay all of us too much. It was reported immediately but they fixed it a month later and gave us all an employee loan to repay.

Same place took out for insurance but never arranged for the coverage so I paid for nothing.

I think this tells you a lot about your present employer.

I think I would have let them take me to court, and would have asked the local newspaper send a reporter to cover the story. Who's to say the judge would agree with them?

Pursue through HR....Talk to a lawyer......Once resolved..QUIT...Where are you that your'e making that piddly salary.Doesn't your hospital know there is a nursing shortage??.You may want to remind them of that in your exit interview.. Good luck..

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