How long does the company have to fix paycheck discrepancies?

[beedelivery]

I live in Indiana. Also, for what it's worth, the employee in question is a contractor for the company.

One of my employees was shorted 5 hours on his last paycheck somehow. The system states he worked 17 hours but his paycheck shows only 12 hours, and reflects only 12 hours' pay. This would happen if someone in our accounting department did the math wrong, but as the scheduling manager I can verify that this employee worked the 17 hours and was clocked in for each shift appropriately.

Apparently HR is looking into it but it's been several days and in the meantime this employee can't pay his rent and is therefore accumulating late fees. I was told that legally the company is required to have it resolved within 48 hours. Is this true? My boss is claiming I'm being too sympathetic for expressing concern, but something about this whole situation seems legally dubious.

 

[cbg]

No, it is not true that all discrepancies have to be resolved in 48 hours. Not even close. The IN state website suggests that most wage disputes are settled within 90 days. It does not specify a hard and fast deadline.

 

[LdiJ]

I live in Indiana. Also, for what it's worth, the employee in question is a contractor for the company.

One of my employees was shorted 5 hours on his last paycheck somehow. The system states he worked 17 hours but his paycheck shows only 12 hours, and reflects only 12 hours' pay. This would happen if someone in our accounting department did the math wrong, but as the scheduling manager I can verify that this employee worked the 17 hours and was clocked in for each shift appropriately.

Apparently HR is looking into it but it's been several days and in the meantime this employee can't pay his rent and is therefore accumulating late fees. I was told that legally the company is required to have it resolved within 48 hours. Is this true? My boss is claiming I'm being too sympathetic for expressing concern, but something about this whole situation seems legally dubious.

While I agree with cbg, there is no such thing as an employee who is a contractor. There are employees, there are contractors. They are not both. If your company is treating someone who should be an employee, as a contractor, messing around with their pay could cause that information to arise and cause your company problems for misclassifying workers.

If the worker is truly a contractor, then wage laws are not relevant to the situation as they do not apply.

The fact that your boss is complaining because you are sympathetic to workers who have been shorted indicates an incredibly poor climate in that company, and if I were in your shoes I would be looking for another job.

 

[cbg]

Good catch, L, I missed the contractor part.

 

[LdiJ]

Good catch, L, I missed the contractor part.

I almost missed it too.

 

[beedelivery]

Thanks for the responses! For clarification, I work at a bakery that offers delivery of its products. The person in question is a delivery driver. Our drivers are paid $5/hr plus tips, but the company pays them $8.50/hr if they're having a slow day and aren't taking any deliveries or making any tips. However we do provide uniforms and schedules and require they follow all the guidelines that our in-store employees follow. It's clear our company calls them contractors to get away with paying them less, but I'm not sure if they legally can be called contractors. And yes, I'm in the process of looking for a better job that suits my leadership style.

Thank you again. It seems like this guy is SOL for the time being.

 

[LdiJ]

Thanks for the responses! For clarification, I work at a bakery that offers delivery of its products. The person in question is a delivery driver. Our drivers are paid $5/hr plus tips, but the company pays them $8.50/hr if they're having a slow day and aren't taking any deliveries or making any tips. However we do provide uniforms and schedules and require they follow all the guidelines that our in-store employees follow. It's clear our company calls them contractors to get away with paying them less, but I'm not sure if they legally can be called contractors. And yes, I'm in the process of looking for a better job that suits my leadership style.

Thank you again. It seems like this guy is SOL for the time being.

Yep, your company sure sounds like its misclassifying workers. Really dumb move on their part to roil things up by shorting someone's pay and not fixing it properly and rapidly.

 

[cbg]

Again, I'm not arguing with L, but I know that there are certain words that tend to be misused and "contractor" is one of them. So just to be on the safe side, at the end of the year are these employees sent a W-2 or a 1099?

 

[beedelivery]

Yes, they receive W2 forms just like our in-store employees.

 

[Zigner]

Yes, they receive W2 forms just like our in-store employees.

Then, they are not "contractors", they are employees.

 

[cbg]

Which means that they are not misclassified.

 

[Insane Jane]

Link: http://www.employmentlawhandbook.com/wage-payment-laws/state-wage-payment-laws/indiana/

An employer must pay employees their wages no less frequently than twice per month. An employer must pay all wages earned within 10 days of the end of a pay period. Salaried employees do not need to be paid at least twice per month. An employee can request to be paid at least every two weeks. An employer must pay employees for wages earned in a pay period within 10 days of the end of the pay period. Indiana Code 22-2-5

“payment shall be made for all wages earned to a date not more than ten (10) business days prior to the date of payment.”
Before July 1, 2015, Indiana employers were automatically liable for paying liquidated damages as a penalty for overdue wages under Indiana law. Indiana law previously mandated that an employer must pay double the amount of unpaid wages as a penalty for unlawfully withheld wages, without exception. Now, if they don't act in "good faith" they are held to the penalty.
So, they may have decided to just pay double for the 5 hours on his next pay check.

 

[cbg]

Yes, those are the basic rules for wage payment.

However, the question had to do with discrepancies or disputes. That's a different ball park.

 

[Insane Jane]

Yes, those are the basic rules for wage payment.

However, the question had to do with discrepancies or disputes. That's a different ball park.

Since the OP is saying that they did short him 5 hours pay from his last check, I think this is what the OP is asking for. Indiana law for withheld wages.
Thank you.

 

[cbg]

And there IS no law in Indiana, or in most states, that directly addresses a time frame in which errors, discrepancies or disputes must be addressed.