Former Employer Claims I Owe Him $ for Mileage

[justalayman]

Wait: Independent Contractor? I was never an independent contractor. I was fully an employee.

You stated you performed work for them after you left their employment. If you issued a bill based upon an amount you determined to be proper, it reslly looks like you were an independent contractor.

 

[justalayman]

I don't know if you legally owe it. I know you morally do.

If it was understood the employee would not be compensated for travel miles from home to the office and office to home, I see no reason op wouldn’t owe the money. The only question to me is how far back in time can the employer go if they sue for the money.

 

[3DMike]

You stated you performed work for them after you left their employment. If you issued a bill based upon an amount you determined to be proper, it reslly looks like you were an independent contractor.

The independent contractor work I did for them is not relevant to the mileage reimbursement question, which is what I intended this thread to be about.

 

[3DMike]

If it was understood the employee would not be compensated for travel miles from home to the office and office to home, I see no reason op wouldn’t owe the money. The only question to me is how far back in time can the employer go if they sue for the money.

Yeah, that seems to me like the biggest question.

 

[justalayman]

Yeah, that seems to me like the biggest question.

I’m pretty sure it’s at last 2 years. I’m not sure of any time longer than that.

 

[LdiJ]

Based on the OP's description of the boss and the boss's actions I would have some concerns about the accuracy of the boss's claim to have overpaid the OP's mileage. I would certainly require thorough proof of the overpayment if I contemplated paying it.

 

[justalayman]

Based on the OP's description of the boss and the boss's actions I would have some concerns about the accuracy of the boss's claim to have overpaid the OP's mileage. I would certainly require thorough proof of the overpayment if I contemplated paying it.

Op does not doubt the fact they were overpaid for mileage. Then it simply becomes a matter of how much they were overpaid.

 

[LdiJ]

Op does not doubt the fact they were overpaid for mileage. Then it simply becomes a matter of how much they were overpaid.

There are 260 potential work days a year. He said it happened for 2-3 years so lets split the difference and say 2.5 years for a total of 650 trips. 5500.00 would be at least 10,000 miles so that would be a one way trip of 15 plus miles. While that is not an huge amount of miles one way, people do tend to live a closer to their work than that, particularly people who have worked someplace for a long time. I would want proof of the number of days involved in the mistake, which would be proof of the mistake as well.

 

[justalayman]

There are 260 potential work days a year. He said it happened for 2-3 years so lets split the difference and say 2.5 years for a total of 650 trips. 5500.00 would be at least 10,000 miles so that would be a one way trip of 15 plus miles. While that is not an huge amount of miles one way, people do tend to live a closer to their work than that, particularly people who have worked someplace for a long time. I would want proof of the number of days involved in the mistake, which would be proof of the mistake as well.

first, there are 365 potential work days per year. I’m not sure what world you live in but every day of the year is a potential work day.

And if the guy lives 45 miles from the Office? I haven’t lived within 15 miles of my work place for 20 years. Of the 5 guys i lunch with daily, only 1 lives within 15 miles. Applying arbitrary numbers of your choosing is meaningless.


But, as you’ve shown: proving the excessive payment wouldn’t be all that difficult. I suggest negotiating a settlement may be the simplest solution.

 

[LdiJ]

first, there are 365 potential work days per year. I’m not sure what world you live in but every day of the year is a potential work day.

And if the guy lives 45 miles from the Office? I haven’t lived within 15 miles of my work place for 20 years. Of the 5 guys i lunch with daily, only 1 lives within 15 miles. Applying arbitrary numbers of your choosing is meaningless.


But, as you’ve shown: proving the excessive payment wouldn’t be all that difficult. I suggest negotiating a settlement may be the simplest solution.

I was talking about 5 days a week. Yes, its possible that someone could work 365 days a year but they would likely burn out in less than a year if they did.

I have never lived more than 10-12 miles away from where I work. For most of my working life I haven't lived more than 5 miles away from where I work. For the last 15 years its been 5 miles round trip. Maybe 1 or 2 of my coworkers live more than 15 miles from the office. Everybody else is local.

So, your experience is not the same as mine.

 

[cbg]

I currently live 30 miles from my work and other than the years I had a second job as a hotel night auditor, I haven't lived closer than 25 miles to my job since the mid-80's. Of the seven members of my team, only two live within 10 miles of the office; the other four are between 15-20 miles out. There are at least three people in my office, on other teams, whose commute is as long as mine or longer.

So, your experience is not universal, either.

 

[justalayman]

I was talking about 5 days a week. Yes, its possible that someone could work 365 days a year but they would likely burn out in less than a year if they did.

I have never lived more than 10-12 miles away from where I work. For most of my working life I haven't lived more than 5 miles away from where I work. For the last 15 years its been 5 miles round trip. Maybe 1 or 2 of my coworkers live more than 15 miles from the office. Everybody else is local.

So, your experience is not the same as mine.

Folks in my line of work often work 6 or 7 days per week. I have friends that chase work across the country to be able to work absolutely as much overtime as possible.

Of course my experience is not the same as yours. Why you would impose your situation upon the op is beyond me.

 

[3DMike]

Based on the OP's description of the boss and the boss's actions I would have some concerns about the accuracy of the boss's claim to have overpaid the OP's mileage. I would certainly require thorough proof of the overpayment if I contemplated paying it.

Mileage was entered on a web application and saved in the cloud. As a former employee, my login credentials no longer work, so I can't review them. However, I have a good idea of the mileage I drove for the company, and tbh those figures are pretty close to what I would guess.

 

[3DMike]

There are 260 potential work days a year. He said it happened for 2-3 years so lets split the difference and say 2.5 years for a total of 650 trips. 5500.00 would be at least 10,000 miles so that would be a one way trip of 15 plus miles. While that is not an huge amount of miles one way, people do tend to live a closer to their work than that, particularly people who have worked someplace for a long time. I would want proof of the number of days involved in the mistake, which would be proof of the mistake as well.

My mileage between home and work was 50 miles one way.

 

[justalayman]

My mileage between home and work was 50 miles one way.

Wow. That would be a considerable overpayment then.

If your contract (doesn’t mean there was a written contract) was you were not to be paid for home to work and reverse travel, then the employer does have a right to demand repayment. The only limitation on enforcing it would be a statute of limitations issue limiting the time they could go back to and start the calculation