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Late Payroll = Overdraft Fees

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holly427

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Connecticut

Okay, this is probably going to seem disorganized and jumbled, but I'll do my best.

I've worked for a staffing agency for around two years now. Every Friday, without fail, for the past two years, my paychecks have been direct deposited into my bank account. I have never had an issue with being paid late.

The week of Thanksgiving, I was assured that payroll would be given on Friday, just like every other week. Sure, Thursday is a holiday, but Friday is not so there's no reason for payroll to be delayed.

Well, lo and behold, indeed it was delayed. Instead of getting paid on Friday as anticipated, I wasn't paid until Saturday. The Friday after Thanksgiving, as we all know, is the biggest shopping day of the year. So naturally, I went shopping! I didn't call the bank first because, well, I didn't see a reason for it. I had always been paid on time before, so why not trust my pay to be in the bank?

Long story short, I spent a whole bunch of money and incurred $170 in overdraft fees because I didn't get paid on time. I'm insisting this is my agency's fault because, had they paid me on time, I would have had the money in the bank, thus incurring no overdraft fees.

I have explained this to them 'till my face was blue. They have rocks in their heads and totally don't understand the severity and importance of this situation. They plumb don't care. They told me to take it up with the payroll company.

Countless phone calls back and forth to the agency, back to the payroll company, back to the agency, etc etc, it has more than been proven that indeed, my late paycheck was my agency's fault. And still, WITH DOCUMENTED PROOF, they still refuse to compensate me for these overdraft fees.

I know, $170 is chump change, but it's more priciple to me than anything else, I guess. Just because I'm small and young (21) doesn't mean you can take advantage of me. I'm sick of being treated like a child.

It has come to the point where I've narrowed this down to two options: small claims court, or contacting the Connecticut Department of Labor. What I seek here is some kind of advice as to where to take this next.

Thanks in advance, feel free to ask any questions if I didn't organize my thoughts as well as I wanted to.

-Holly :)
 


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shell007

Guest
What I seek here is some kind of advice as to where to take this next.
You can take this wherever you want to...this is a free country. However with that being said...I'm not sure you will get anywhere beyond what you have already been told.

It seems like you were already concerned about the balance in your account prior to "Black Friday".

It really is your responsibility to make sure that you have enough funds in your account before going on a spending spree.

Since you were aware that there might be a problem prior to Thanksgiving, you should have proceeded with caution and didn't. :)
 
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shell007

Guest
Definition of:

Black Friday: Businesses once recorded losses in red ink and gains in black, a tradition that lives on in modern accounting software, hence the name. However, employees of retail stores have for years used the term in a satirical way, to note the extremely stressful and hectic nature of the day.
 

pattytx

Senior Member
The state DOL has much bigger fish to fry than following up on a payment that was one day "late", and that you have since received.

You say it didn't "show up" until Saturday. It's very possible that, because of the holiday, your deposit wasn't posted until Friday night's business (Friday being payday), which is perfectly legal. Many banks do what they call a "memo posting", meaning that the direct deposit amount is recorded as a pending transaction, is available in full (or in part) ON the settlement date, but is not actually post until that night's business. Again, that is legal.

And see, here's the other problem. You were concerned enough to question when payment would be made. But you didn't check to make sure the money was actually in your account before you went and wrote checks against it. You have to take some responsibility here, which, if you're writing checks without the applicable funds, you are totally responsible for.

What I'm saying is what do you think CT is going to do if you file a claim? You have since been paid. And very few states require a penalty to be paid to the employee for a "late" payment.
 

holly427

Junior Member
...all well and good, and understood completely, however...

Isn't it their responsibility to pay me on time?

Thanks :)
 

holly427

Junior Member
pattytx said:
The state DOL has much bigger fish to fry than following up on a payment that was one day "late", and that you have since received.

You say it didn't "show up" until Saturday. It's very possible that, because of the holiday, your deposit wasn't posted until Friday night's business (Friday being payday), which is perfectly legal. Many banks do what they call a "memo posting", meaning that the direct deposit amount is recorded as a pending transaction, is available in full (or in part) ON the settlement date, but is not actually post until that night's business. Again, that is legal.

And see, here's the other problem. You were concerned enough to question when payment would be made. But you didn't check to make sure the money was actually in your account before you went and wrote checks against it. You have to take some responsibility here, which, if you're writing checks without the applicable funds, you are totally responsible for.

What I'm saying is what do you think CT is going to do if you file a claim? You have since been paid. And very few states require a penalty to be paid to the employee for a "late" payment.
Oh, I know the state wants nothing to do with it. I know that the state will laugh if I file a claim with them.

But, the point is, regardless of how big or small the issue, I CAN file a claim. And my hopes in doing so, as ridiculous as the claim is, is to my agency off enough to make them compensate me.

Thanks :)
 

pattytx

Senior Member
I'm being realistic here. Depending upon how your receiving bank handles incoming ACH transactions, it's possible that the situation I described could have occurred.

You can contact the state DOL if you want, but I can almost guarantee you that they will not take your claim, since you HAVE been paid.

You can also contact your employer and ask politely if they would consider maybe, splitting the NSF charges with you. I've got to tell you, though, I've managed the payroll for many large employers, and I wouldn't do it. The "fact" that the employer did not (well, maybe did not) meet their responsibility does not relieve you of the legal obligation for you to meet yours.
 

holly427

Junior Member
pattytx said:
I'm being realistic here. Depending upon how your receiving bank handles incoming ACH transactions, it's possible that the situation I described could have occurred.

You can contact the state DOL if you want, but I can almost guarantee you that they will not take your claim, since you HAVE been paid.

You can also contact your employer and ask politely if they would consider maybe, splitting the NSF charges with you. I've got to tell you, though, I've managed the payroll for many large employers, and I wouldn't do it. The "fact" that the employer did not (well, maybe did not) meet their responsibility does not relieve you of the legal obligation for you to meet yours.
I sincerely appreciate your advice. Thank you.

I have a form from the payroll company saying that my agency didn't submit payroll to them on time in order for me to be paid when I should have.

Also, I've contacted my bank as well, and my pay posted the second it was recieved, on Saturday.

You're probably right about the state not caring. That's not the point anyways. The point is to make my agency see how ticked off I am and how far I'm willing to go, even if all I get out of it is making life inconvenient for them, and scare or annoy them into paying me. It's $170. That's sofa cushion change to them! We're an agency of nurses. I KNOW how much they make.

I fully understand where you're coming from, and it more than likely is a 50/50 issue; half my fault for being reckless with my VISA card, and half their fault for being reckless with their payroll. I've had nothing but problems with this agency since they turned over management/ownership six months ago. I just want to give them a little bit of the grief they've given me.

Thanks a billion again. :)
 
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shell007

Guest
You know...to avoid this ever happening again. Maybe, you could stop direct deposit and have your check handed to you in person on pay-day. Then you can endorse it and deposit it into your account whenever you like. :rolleyes: :)
 

pattytx

Senior Member
Yep, that was a possibility. Having been in payroll for as long as I have, I guess I just think that the payroll person would be more responsible than that. And Shell.....thanks a bunch. Here we are trying to promote direct deposit! :p
 

luvbskts

Member
holly427 said:
What is the name of your state? Connecticut

Okay, this is probably going to seem disorganized and jumbled, but I'll do my best.

I've worked for a staffing agency for around two years now. Every Friday, without fail, for the past two years, my paychecks have been direct deposited into my bank account. I have never had an issue with being paid late.

The week of Thanksgiving, I was assured that payroll would be given on Friday, just like every other week. Sure, Thursday is a holiday, but Friday is not so there's no reason for payroll to be delayed.

Well, lo and behold, indeed it was delayed. Instead of getting paid on Friday as anticipated, I wasn't paid until Saturday. The Friday after Thanksgiving, as we all know, is the biggest shopping day of the year. So naturally, I went shopping! I didn't call the bank first because, well, I didn't see a reason for it. I had always been paid on time before, so why not trust my pay to be in the bank?

Long story short, I spent a whole bunch of money and incurred $170 in overdraft fees because I didn't get paid on time. I'm insisting this is my agency's fault because, had they paid me on time, I would have had the money in the bank, thus incurring no overdraft fees.

I have explained this to them 'till my face was blue. They have rocks in their heads and totally don't understand the severity and importance of this situation. They plumb don't care. They told me to take it up with the payroll company.

Countless phone calls back and forth to the agency, back to the payroll company, back to the agency, etc etc, it has more than been proven that indeed, my late paycheck was my agency's fault. And still, WITH DOCUMENTED PROOF, they still refuse to compensate me for these overdraft fees.

I know, $170 is chump change, but it's more priciple to me than anything else, I guess. Just because I'm small and young (21) doesn't mean you can take advantage of me. I'm sick of being treated like a child.

It has come to the point where I've narrowed this down to two options: small claims court, or contacting the Connecticut Department of Labor. What I seek here is some kind of advice as to where to take this next.

Thanks in advance, feel free to ask any questions if I didn't organize my thoughts as well as I wanted to.

-Holly :)
I have a question for you...how can you write checks on Friday and they bounce BEFORE your deposit was made on Saturday? That doesn't add up, IMO. It takes checks more than a day to clear a bank, especially on the busiest shopping day of the year.
You screwed up and tried to beat the money to the bank. Now you have the consequences. No one is to blame but yourself. Sorry !
 
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shell007

Guest
Not sure...but I assumed that it was a debit card attached to her checking account!

Let's see what she says if she comes back!
 

holly427

Junior Member
luvbskts said:
I have a question for you...how can you write checks on Friday and they bounce BEFORE your deposit was made on Saturday? That doesn't add up, IMO. It takes checks more than a day to clear a bank, especially on the busiest shopping day of the year.
You screwed up and tried to beat the money to the bank. Now you have the consequences. No one is to blame but yourself. Sorry !

Yeah, YHO is wrong. Do I seem like the type of person that would get someone else to pay for my mistakes?

No.

I used my debit card.

Visa check card, attached to my checking account, where my paychecks are deposited without fail (except for this particular one, obviously) every Friday morning.

I DIDN'T "Screw up" as you so gently put it, my EMPLOYER did.

Thanks.
 

Neal1421

Senior Member
luvbskts said:
I have a question for you...how can you write checks on Friday and they bounce BEFORE your deposit was made on Saturday? That doesn't add up, IMO. It takes checks more than a day to clear a bank, especially on the busiest shopping day of the year.
You screwed up and tried to beat the money to the bank. Now you have the consequences. No one is to blame but yourself. Sorry !

I am not sure what bank she is affliated with, however recently my bank has stated that if the money is not in the account at the time that the check is written, it will be subject to NSF fees. Her bank may be the same way. Then again she may have been using a debit card.
 

holly427

Junior Member
Neal1421 said:
I am not sure what bank she is affliated with, however recently my bank has stated that if the money is not in the account at the time that the check is written, it will be subject to NSF fees. Her bank may be the same way. Then again she may have been using a debit card.

Bank of America.

Unimportant, because yes, I used my debit card. The only things I write checks for are my mortgage and utility bills. Everything else is either on auto-pay out of my account or paid with using my debit card.

I think in the two years I've had my BofA account I haven't even used an entire book of checks...
 

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