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Help!

I am on severance since leaving my job. It was a very contentious departure which I prevailed in severance matter. I recently received an expense reimbursement. I am now being told that the reimbursement amount was incorrect, causing a significant over-payment. I was asked if I wanted to have all of the money taken out of my next severance payment, or smaller amounts taken out over time. I told them I would need to consider and get back with them.

  • Am I obligated to repay the funds beyond moral reasons?

  • Is a severance payment different that a salary payment because of a contract?

  • If they take it out without my permission can I recover it and any damages in the process?

Thank you!

DarkCygnus
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Bruno
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    Hi and welcome to The Workplace! There are many posts about being overpaid, and the short answer is that if you were overpaid, it was never your money and you will have to pay it back. Whether it is severance or normal salary is irrelevant - if they paid you more than you are contractually obligated to receive, it's not your money and the company will (rightfully) demand it back. – Jane S Aug 27 '19 at 02:10
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    The first question you need to ask yourself is whether there really was an expense overpayment. If there was, you owe them the money. If not, you should dispute it. – Patricia Shanahan Aug 27 '19 at 03:03
  • IMHO, this question belongs to legal section – Strader Aug 27 '19 at 17:14

4 Answers4

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Am I obligated to repay the funds beyond moral reasons?

In some jurisdictions, to knowingly keep money that is not owned to you is considered a criminal offence. That is in addition to any civil action that may be conducted against you. It is not your money, so you have no right to keep it.

Is a severance payment different that a salary payment because of a contract?

Maybe, but probably not in ways you may find useful.

If they take it out without my permission can I recover it and any damages in the process?

Given the additional money is not yours, you have no expectation of it, and you've been told that they will recover it, any damages you seek will almost certainly be considered avoidable by the court.

Gregory Currie
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    OP, you're not going to get to keep money that isn't yours. The company offered to let you pay smaller amounts over time and I'd suggest taking them up on this. Think of it as a free loan. – Justin Aug 27 '19 at 08:35
  • Plus one for Justin's comment id suggest 10$ or so per month and claim that whilst you are looking for work and unemployed that's all you can afford – Neuromancer Aug 28 '19 at 19:43
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The first and most important question: Was the reimbursement correct, or were you overpaid, or were you overpaid but not as much as they thought?

If the reimbursement was incorrect then they have the right to get the extra money back. (That is except in very unusual cases). If you agree that you were overpaid, then reply which of your two choices you want. If you refuse and the sum is not trivial you will see them in court otherwise. Taking the money without your permission is most likely very dodge and therefore unlikely to happen.

If you disagree about the amounts, then you should contact them and say why you disagree. Best outcome is that you come to an agreement. If you don’t agree, pay back what you agree on, and again the rest may go to court. Be reasonable, think about things where a court could decide against you. Taking the money with your permission would be more than dodgy, so this is even less likely. Compromising would likely be cheapest for both sides.

gnasher729
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I recently received an expense reimbursement. I am now being told that the reimbursement amount was incorrect, causing a significant over-payment.

This is where it gets tricky in my opinion. If I an understanding this correctly, you submitted your expense report for X amount and they approved that amount? If so, then you have a case that you submitted the right payment amount that they promised to pay back but now they say they did it wrong. Otherwise if they overpaid you by accident, like you were expecting/approved for X but they give you X + 1000, then you have to give that money back. They will win 100% of the way.

Am I obligated to repay the funds beyond moral reasons?

Legally and morally you're obligated to give back money you owe. Now if my above statement is true, then you need to get with a lawyer to discuss this. They can't go back on expenses they promised they would pay you unless you lied or exaggerated the amount and they found out. It also sounds like they might have arbitrarily gave you a expense reimbursement and felt it was too much. If that was the case, then you might have a case against them but it's going to come down to proving they approved an amount and went back on it.

Otherwise, depending on location, this may be criminal.

Dan
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Am I obligated to repay the funds beyond moral reasons?

You haven't specified a locale. In most locales, you are legally obligated to repay the overpayment in a timely manner.

Is a severance payment different that a salary payment because of a contract?

Not in any meaningful way.

If they take it out without my permission can I recover it and any damages in the process?

No.

Joe Strazzere
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