I work for a local government agency. I have been Y rated (Pay Frozen, payed at a higher rate for a lesser position)) for approximately 3 years.
I got a call from a union rep saying he had some bad news. Turns out the agency switched payroll systems and did not catch this. And I also did not notice, monthly pay varies with overtime and tech pay. For the last 18 months they have overpaid me to the tune of about 6K. This creates a domino effect with retirement,taxes etc..
They are working on a payback formula. One option is a 18 month plan. I am pretty ok with this.
My spouse is furious, she believes they are responsible for the mistake and should be liable for at least half of the money.
Curious as to thoughts from the membership.
Thanks

Isn't this what you pay union reps to do? Catch errors like this because they become a $6K problem. I would have the union on the hook also.

If you failed to document your time correctly and discovered you were owed, $6k in back pay, would your spouse expect you to only request 1/2 because of your failure to notice?

You had benefit of the income. In the military if a member was overpaid, often, they held back the entire amount, and you were still at a deficit when they started the re-reimbursement, you got a nice goose-egg or surprise on your Leave and Earning Statement. (but a trip the Finance office and you could often work out a payback plan.

quote:

Originally posted by Angus the Kid:
Isn't this what you pay union reps to do? Catch errors like this because they become a $6K problem. I would have the union on the hook also.

I was only involved with one union during my career, but I don't think they were responsible for making sure the members paychecks were correct. They just negotiated the pay scales.

I worked for a union company a few years ago that did the same thing. Student Machinists were paid too much. It too was caught after about a year, year and a half. They had to pay it back through payroll deduction. One of the affected wanted to just write them a check for what he owed and they would not allow him to do it. Kinda sucked for them, but they had no other choice. Companies position was that they knew they were being overpaid and should have notified somebody.

quote:

Companies position was that they knew they were being overpaid and should have notified somebody.

What a crock of shit!

Taking the money back is standard practice. Some governmental agencies demand IMMEDIATE payment and attach interest. It is best to be pleasant about it and work out a reasonable payment plan. As Sig monkey pointed out this sort of thing is somewhat common in the military due to a variety of reasons.

I would want to know how to get the taxes I already paid back (income, SS, medicare).

You know, because taxable income you receive now is going to be use to pay back income you previously received and also paid taxes on. So, you are paying taxes twice.

quote:

I would want to know how to get the taxes I already paid back (income, SS, medicare).

You know, because taxable income you receive now is going to be use to pay back income you previously received and also paid taxes on. So, you are paying taxes twice.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Accounting should make the appropriate adjustments so that additional tax is not paid. Of course if they previously made a mistake....

quote:

Originally posted by mikeyspizza:
I would want to know how to get the taxes I already paid back (income, SS, medicare).

You know, because taxable income you receive now is going to be use to pay back income you previously received and also paid taxes on. So, you are paying taxes twice.

There is an IRS procedure to claim a deduction or a credit for the taxes you paid on income that you had to repay in a later year. You can claim either the deduction or the credit whichever gives you the greater benefit. It's called a "Claim of Right". See a CPA to get it filed properly.