Mistaken Severance Problem

[Asbury]

What is the name of your state? CALIFORNIA

I was terminated by an employer last month (wrongfully), and I wasn't presented with my final check (we were paid weekly) when I was given the bum's rush out of the office. I was told a courier would bring my final check to my home that evening (a Thursday), but the courier never came; instead, my final check was direct deposited into my bank account that Friday morning as it normally was, and the stub arrived as it usually did in the mail, as if it were just any other paycheck. My final exit interview was a hurried affair - the type of thing done to catch an employee off guard - and nothing was mentioned about severance.

I was surprised to see another week's pay deposited in my bank account the following Friday, along with the accompanying pay stub in my mail. But, being a large corporation such as this, I didn't assume this was an error, especially as my insurance had already been cut off (and the pay stub reflected this). So I assumed this was severance, especially after I has talked to Human Resources and aired my grievances with the suspicious circumstances surrounding my termination. When the checks kept being deposited after two weeks, I thought the company was being quite generous. But then, my company was known for being quite spendthrift. I lost my job because I was blowing the whistle on unnecessary office spending, so a lavish severance package didn't entirely seem out-of-the-question to me. But by the fifth week, I suspected something was wrong. On the sixth week, a check was deposited and reversed in the same step, pulled immediately out of my account. While I never saw an increase in my account, both the deposit and the reversal showed in my account online.

Now my former employer has sent me a letter asking me to pay them back for the five weeks of payments, saying it was an overpayment on their part. They audited their payroll and claim it was overpayment for the time after my employment ended. The pay stubs received after my termination looked like normal stubs, but I figured they just chose to portion the severance out in weekly intervals and then terminate it at a given point. (And again, they did manage to stop taking out benefits.) Moreover, this is their error, not mine. Why should I be penalized for their payroll error? They freely and willingly gave me the money with no deception on my part. I noticed they are "requesting" (their word) the money and not demanding it - and that they want it back for their fiscal year on July 15.

I found a portion of the California Labor Code that reads:

221. It shall be unlawful for any employer to collect or receive
from an employee any part of wages theretofore paid by said employer
to said employee.

Of course, the problem is that they were not, at the time, technically my employer, nor was I their employee. That's the issue at hand, as it were. (I can't find anything in the baffling code that describes my situation, but the code is really dense and confusing.)

I really needed the money while I searched for a new position, so, of course, I don't have it on hand now. (I got the letter today, my second day on my new job.) After being treated so poorly by such a mean-spirited company, it seemed to be the one nice thing I got from such a bad experience. And now, the bad experience is getting even worse. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Am I obligated to pay them back?

[pattytx]

You made an awful lot of assumptions, there. Why didn't you ever actually call the company and tell them?

I believe the code section you cite has to do with recovering salary overpayments made in error from the employee's pay. Since that is no longer possible, they can always sue you civilly for the money. And they'll probably win.

It never ceases to amaze me how many of these questions we get on this board. "Oh, I'll just accept the money, even though I know, or guess, that it's not really due me. I won't contact the ex-employer. Oh, no, they want me to pay it back."

You accepted money that didn't belong to you. You didn't even try to find out if it was an error. Of course they want it back and for 6 weeks' pay, they will probably sue you for it, and you will have to pay it back. I certainly hope you put that money aside, cause you're most likely gonna need it.

[panzertanker]

Originally Posted by Asbury

Am I obligated to pay them back?

Does your "moral compass" not already know the answer???
Besides the correct answer from pattytx...