money by mistake?

Question

Recently I went on a leave of adsence from work and I used all of my sick and vacation time. When it was time for me to go back I told them I wouldn't be coming back. The reason I went on leave was for depression and anxiety disorder and I figured my job was making it worse. I just got a check from them today saying it is my remaining vacation hours but I did use them all. It even said on the pay stub that I was being paid for 33.64 of vacation. But it also said by available vacation hours -33.64. So someone made an error. Is it their fault and I should just wait and see if they want their money back. This is a huge corporation and if I had to guess I don't think they would even notice.

Answer 1

Vacation used was previously earned, if you worked X amount of hours in this year you have earned X amount of vacation time, that is what you where being paid for. It is at a negative because the year is not over yet

Answer 2

It's probably just the way the company payroll system works. Eventually someone will find out and contact you about it. The real problem is that when that happens they will demand the full amount back, including the taxs that were taken out. You can try to recoup some of these, federal and state you will need to wait a year till you file your return, FICA and FICA med you will NEVER get back, and same with state unemployment etc.. So I would NOT cash that check if I were you, because then you can straighten it out BEFORE they send in the taxes.

Answer 3

Don't tell them it was a mistake. Just tell them the facts and let them take it from there. Something like this could haunt you for years if they catch the mistake when they close the books at the end of the quarter or year. If they don't catch it, independent auditors might, so don't take that chance.

Answer 4

call thepayroll dept to confirm.they can file suit if they wanted to push the issue if you got paid by mistake.