Ok, this is complicated:

I get base pay. A

I get incentive pay at the end of the month. B

I get premier incentive pay at the end of the month. C

I get incentive pay at the end of the month for the PREVIOUS month.

My supervisor is blonde.

..

In February, my incentive pay (B) was paid, but they forgot to pay me premier (C) for January.

I asked for this to be paid as soon as possible, and they said they would get around to it by the end of this month.

Then my blonde supervisor came up with a handwritten note that said I was to get piddle incentive pay for February. I said I quit. She came back a few minutes later with my official incentive sheet. It only included regular incentive (B) and not premier incentive (C) for February OR January.

Now they owed me January AND February premier (C).

I pointed this out to my blonde supervisor. She mumbled vaguely.

Yesterday I got a nice check. The bottom line looked about like what they owed me in total, so I put it in the bank.

Last night I got a call from a secretary, also blonde, who claimed I had been "UNDERPAID" and would I tell her what my check said. I did.

Then she claimed I have been overpaid to the tune of more than my next TWO paychecks. I said au contraire, mon frair, you owed me money for weeks.

She said we'd all sit down ON THE PHONE and work it out. I said, no, I don't bloody think anyone is working anything out without numbers on paper in person. In MY person. I happen to have all MY numbers on paper.

I know they're gonna screw me. I've already put in one week on a new time period, and they want me to work tomorrow and Monday, when they say they'll think about working it out.

Uh uh. They simply won't pay me. I'll have worked three weeks before the next pay period, and if they don't pay me, that will be three weeks of my life in a job I don't even like FOR FREE.

Does anyone here know what legal options I have? I'll work Sunday and Monday, but not one more day without HARD EVIDENCE they overpaid me a dime. I don't think they did, but if they did, it sure wasn't by as much as the blonde secretary said.

And besides that, WHY did they ASK ME what the check stub said? It's a computer-generated check. WHERE'S THE FILE?

Help! Oh help!

-- Anonymous, March 30, 2002

Answers

Mention that your accountant and your lawyer see no problem with the amount you were paid.

Don't show them your numbers, make them show you theirs. Ask if they want your lawyer to check things for them.

Since it wasn't direct deposit they can't take it back, but put them on notice that you will, if necessary, have your lawyer contact them on behalf of your accountant if they cannot produce the files for you.

You might, just might mind you, mention that it would be interesting to see if anyone else in the company is having problems with the payroll department. As in, talking to everyone in the office about how they are screwing your pay up and asking if anyone else is having a problem.

Is there a government agency that you can contact to let them know that this company apparently is screwing up the payroll? For example, if the company is traded on the stock exchange you can contact the FCC and let them know that the company has shoddy record keeping, thus opening the door to an audit of sorts. Then there is the IRS...

What if you refused to work until they straightened it out? Is that an option for you? Is it a worthwhile threat for them?

How is your work time recorded? Time clock? Signin sheet? Computer login?

-- Anonymous, March 30, 2002

Barefoot, they're on the stock market. Scary thought, eh?

I log into a computer instead of punching a clock -- but every pay period my check stub says how many hours I worked, plus we initial a paysheet with our exact shifts. Several people are on one paysheet, so they can't be faked without also forging other people's initials. I don't think they're THAT stupid. I actually LOOK at my hours before I sign, and they look right to me.

The problem is, every time I asked how much they owed me for premier (C) in January and how much my premier (C) for February was supposed to be, whoever I asked said they didn't know. This includes my supervisor and three higher supervisors, one of whom is grand pooba of my physical branch -- ie, he doesn't even live in this town. His main office is 80 miles away. The premier (C) is a fixed amount, but paid to me by the hour worked. So without knowing what (C) is, how do I know what they owed me?

Actually, I may owe them money, but the numbers the blonde secretary said I owed do not match what records I do have. I don't want to repay a number without hard evidence that I really owe them that amount. I've gotten the brush off for two months on how much did they owe ME, and now I'm supposed to take their word for it on how much I owe THEM??

I will keep in mind that they answer to a bigger dog -- stock market. I didn't know that, and thank you VERY much for the info.

Every time something stupid happens, later I find out that in a strange, roundabout way, it turned out for the better. The will of God, or proof that God likes comic relief too.

When we were attacked, this same company put out a memo that we might not get paid for an unknown period of time due to all the bank info lost and for some reason difficulty with plane schedules (???). Then they paid us on time without telling us how they managed it.

This company puts out a computerized schedule for each of us every week. Every week mine is screwed up, and they tell me to just throw it away and work the hours they tell me to work. And they don't fix the problem with my schedule in the computer .... you don't suppose they paid me according to the computer schedule and not the real one? In that case they would owe me more money than they say they overpaid.

You don't suppose their computers are totally screwed? The time clock is in there, and last week the time jumped forward five minutes, making our time clock ten minutes ahead of real time, and no one seemed to know what to do about it. We're logged through the same system.

Every time I bring a computer problem to the attention of our supervisors -- all the way to the top guy for our branch -- they say they appreciate the info but don't know what to do about it. They SAY they don't know!

Egad.

-- Anonymous, March 30, 2002

Helen, I am not an att. and I do not play one on tv...I go along with BF . and I would work the two days, Sun and Mon..THEN not work anymore..if this goes to court, you can show you even gave up holiday/Sunday to them while NOT knowing if you'd be paid.

FWIW..I have a Feeling you will be directed to a different employer...with the econ the way it is for everyone..I take that as also a "nudge" from God! Good Luck.

-- Anonymous, March 30, 2002

I agree. It sure does look like you should be looking at another job as soon as posible. This happpened to me when I worked telemarketing years ago. Not fun and it sure is agravating!! Get some sleep. It might assist with the way you are looking at the situation!

-- Anonymous, March 30, 2002

Thank you. Will implement what I can, fight what I can.

-- Anonymous, March 30, 2002

Do the Wage and Hours people at the Dept of Labor have anything to do with this? Might give them a call too, no need to mention names at the beginning.

You don't suppose it's a Y2K problem, do you? LOLOLOLOL!

-- Anonymous, March 31, 2002

It would be a hoot to find out that this is the one company in the world that didn't fix their computers for Y2K. LOL

You'll be famous, Helen, if that turns out to be the case.

-- Anonymous, March 31, 2002

Sounds like this company needs an IRS audit. I could arrange that.

-- Anonymous, March 31, 2002

Helen, don't quit without another job lined up. You may not be paid for your time if you do work, but you definitely won't be paid if you don't work.

What a mess, you definitely need to keep a log of your hours.

-- Anonymous, April 01, 2002

Bardou, if you can arrange a full audit of this company, I will gladly give you any organ of which I possess two.

They work people full time hours and deny them full time benefits on a regular basis. An audit would uncover that. They are now saying that I owe them money and they're going to confiscate my paychecks until I pay it back -- and as of this morning, they still couldn't tell me how much I supposedly owed them.

How can they decide what I owe them and confiscate it without my having any sort of arbitration? No input from me, I'm just the fool who showed up for work.

They said they thought they had given me a check for $65,000. I asked why didn't they know what my check said?

Bardou, the files are messed up. They sell stock on the market. If you can get the SEC into it, I'll throw in a cornea.

Git has my email address.

-- Anonymous, April 01, 2002

Helen, you can anon the IRS. They will give you a "secret code" as a whistle blower if you have proof or believe this company has/is/were particpating in "FRAUDULENT" accounting. BTW, if they are cheating, you get a percentage of what the IRS recovers.

I have no idea what state you live in, but all TAXES whether state or federal, reflect each other. You must have the proof, and if you can lay low and collect as much evidence as possible, then it's more ammo for you.

I worked for a company that sounds just like the one you are describing, and let's just say, they are no longer in business.

The IRS has a fraud toll-free number. Have all your facts stated. If you need additional help e-mail me, OG has my e-mail address.

-- Anonymous, April 02, 2002

Helen, in addition to the other (good) suggestions you've gotten, I hope you're keeping a day-by-day notebook on all this.

-- Anonymous, April 02, 2002

Have sent you both each other's e-mails. Isn't that lovely grammar?

-- Anonymous, April 02, 2002

I'm concerned about Helen losing her job if she is pegged as a "problem employee". Helen, make sure you know what you are trying to accomplish.

-- Anonymous, April 02, 2002

Yeah, helen, what nerve! Expecting to be paid for your time, correctly!

-- Anonymous, April 02, 2002

Deflated.

I asked for a complete recalculation of my pay since the first pay period of this year. As of today, they're still promising to put all the numbers in writing. (Actually they said they would show me today, and they didn't.) They still haven't given me an exact dollar amount, but they're confiscating my next paycheck. I said I wanted a paystub that shows the hours I'm working, my pay, and how much was being removed (all, but what amount?).

They say I'm not getting a check of any kind. I said they should give me one that says ZERO, with an accompanying stub that shows my hours and my pay rate and exactly how much they're taking back.

Nada, they say.

I'm getting offline to call the Labor Board right now.

You know, we were all smiling. I agreed to work to pay it off, signed up for 40 hours this week -- no benefits -- to get this paid off. They'll have to explain why I'm working full time with no benefits someday. I hope.

Thanks for the back up.

-- Anonymous, April 02, 2002

Recognizing there are two problems, the short term immediate problem of being overpaid and the long term problem of being worked full time hours with no benefits, I confined the conversation to the first problem.

Labor Dept lady says if they get involved, people almost always get fired. I have a legal right to a clear, written contract between my employer and myself detailing what happened. Every number must be on there, the method and amount of repayment must be on there, and I must sign it -- or they can't take my paycheck.

That's not at all how they explained it to me at work. >;)

I do apparently owe them a yet-unspecified amount of money, and I will repay that.

Question two may be moot point until later this fall. What I have to do is quietly gather evidence of full time workers being denied benefits that are supposed to be granted according to their own written policy. That groundwork may be enough to get the Labor Dept in the door.

I really appreciate all the feedback and support. It's hard to explain where I come from. This is an area where women don't know they're not supposed to be beaten by their boyfriends. The notion of fighting an employer and winning isn't within the context of their lives. Most of us who get screwed on the benefits are women with kids to support. I've been advised in the virtual world to fight, but in my local, "real" world, only my husband supports a fight. Everyone else, including my relatives, are afraid I'll lose, lose big, and lose more than they ever took from me. It's a mindset. It's hard to overcome. I was afraid to call the Labor Dept just to ask about my rights in this situation. Sooooo glad it was a friendly-sounding woman. :)

Someday, when all my kids are grown, I'm going to stand in front of a moving tank on behalf of someone else.

-- Anonymous, April 02, 2002

Hang in there, Norma Rae!

-- Anonymous, April 03, 2002

I would love to see their collective faces when you let them know that they have to show you the amount and get your signature before they can take it.

Seems to me they should do it in installments.

A while back our bank account was being credited with someone else's money. We weren't watching it too close and the statements arrive every three months. Anyway, we withdrew some of the money to pay for something, I forget what, and shortly after that the bank called us to let us know about the error. They said they were going to take it all in one lump sum, and I said no friggin' way. I told them they could take it out the same way it went in, bi=weekly. And so they did. Once that was done, I started monitoring it very closely, and caught another deposit and alerted them immediately. I told them that if it happened again I was going to keep it. The woman chuckled and told me that the depositor was the US Military. She said they were demanding to know who owned the account that the money was going into. I told her that it was none of their business and that if she told them and I found out that I would sue.

The US Military does not make the same errors these days, but I watch closely, still...

-- Anonymous, April 03, 2002

helen, if you need any help seeing you through this period, let me know! Promise??!!

-- Anonymous, April 03, 2002

BrookS, tis I should be seeing you through, I would think!

-- Anonymous, April 03, 2002