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overpayment

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Jaclynweist

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Utah

my husband was getting shift differential for working graveyards. When he went to days, they allowed him to keep the differential since they were also giving him a promotion. At the beginning of this year, the company got a new system that told them how to add on the differential. After 2 paychecks he noticed that he was getting the differential twice so he approached his boss, along with two other coworkers with the same issue. He told them it was fine because that's what the handbook said to do. Several other times during this year my husband and coworkers mentioned it again and was told the same thing. Around the middle of this month they were informed that payroll had just noticed that they were getting two differentials and they owed them back over $14,000 each. Along with that they were stripped of both differentials AND overtime. His boss who had okayed everything, denies having done so and even threatened to knock down their review scores. They were told IF they paid the money back, they could change their shift to get a differential but with no overtime - even if their job required them to stay in later than their shift required. Now they're starting to deduct money from their pay check. From everything I've read, they're not allowed retaliation or to deduct payment without written permission. Is there anything my husband and two coworkers can do?
 


cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
First of all, just so you know, shift differentials are not required by law.

What are your husband's job duties? (Not his title, what does he actually do during the course of a work day?)
 

Jaclynweist

Junior Member
His job description

He works with customers doing databases to help them work with THEIR customers. He was working with customers in Europe which is why he was doing the night shift in the first place. He then moved to another shift that would still allow him to work with Europe. I realize that differentials are not required by law. I am just not pleased in the retaliating form in which they are forcing him to pay them back. He had followed what the payroll handbook AND his boss had told him to do.
 

Dandy Don

Senior Member
Is he satisfied with the amount of money they are taking from his paycheck or does he wish it was less? Your husband should be consulting with an employment/labor law attorney or making a query to the local Department of Labor to find out if this restitution is illegal or not. He and his co-workers should be asking to negotiate a repayment plan with smaller amounts deducted if that is what they want to do.
 

Jaclynweist

Junior Member
money

From what I have found in Utah law, they are not allowed to even take money of the paycheck if he doesn't sign a consent. He did not. According the attorney he talked to, they cannot require that money back as he went to them several times, and it has been so long, AND it went through 2 different people to okay the paycheck before he got the money. It was okayed twice each time!

Department of Labor said that he was not required to pay it back but that the company COULD take away the differential whenever they wanted to. Now they're saying they have the right to the money. I do know from every place I've looked that they are not allowed to take it out of the paycheck without consent from the employee. So at this point we're at a loss as to what he can do to fix it! Had he laughed it off from the beginning, that is one thing. But he had gone to his boss several times and they told him it was okay to keep doing what he was doing. Even as this mess was happening the boss yet again okayed the paycheck with the second differential(as my husband had already turned it in, he (my husband) couldn't just take off the differential)!
 

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