If my former employer mistakenly deposited money into my bank account, doI have to repay more than what was deposited?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
If my former employer mistakenly deposited money into my bank account, doI have to repay more than what was deposited?
I left my old employment 4 months ago and last week it made an error and direct deposited close to $600 to my account. Now it is requesting that I repay it $992. I am assuming this is the gross amount before taxes and maybe child support. I am returning the $600 that was deposited, however I fail to see how I responsible for any amount above that. I am already paying for child support so any amount deducted from their error would not give me a credit in the state where I am paying support.
Asked on March 13, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, North Carolina
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
An overpayment does not entitle you to keep the money mistakenly paid to you, so your employer can require you to repay it--and sue you, if you do not voluntarily do so. Moreover, it can recover from you not just the net amount you received, but also any amounts paid on your behalf--e.g. taxes, child support; that is, it can recover the gross amount. You in turn could seek either recovery of or a credit for these overpayments from the entities or person to whom they were directed. For example and to oversimplify: say that your child support obligation is $18,000 per year; if extra was paid now, due to an error, you should either be able to skip a payment later, have later payments reduced, etc. to reflect the early payment of some of your obligation. The same goes for taxes--if you overwitheld due to an overpayment, that should be taken into account while calculating your total tax liabilty for the year.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.