GREENSBORO, N.C. — Classes are expected to resume as normal in Durham on Tuesday after the district had to close nine schools on Monday. Hundreds of staff members were protesting over an issue with their pay. The district accidentally overpaid about 1,300 employees. The district has since said employees could keep the extra money, but there is debate on how much they should be paid now.
To dig deeper into the issue, 2 Wants To Know asked Triad employment attorney Nicole Patino what your rights are if you ever accidentally get overpaid. She says in North Carolina, you have to give the money back in future paychecks.
“Yes, in North Carolina an overpayment if it's a genuine error by the employer is considered a prepayment of wages, so employees are required to pay back that money. And employers can recoup it from subsequent paychecks,” Patino said.
And if for some reason you accidentally get paid too much when you're leaving a job on your final paycheck, the company can come after you in court.
“The employer can sue you to recover the wages,” Patino said. “Or they could in certain circumstances garnish your wages in future employment. Or they can put a tax lien, so they can take from your tax returns in the future.”
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