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My employer overpaid me and is requiring me to pay this money back. Am I required by law to repay this amount?

My employer overpaid me and is requiring me to pay this money back. Am I required by law to repay this amount?

Q: Can an employer make you pay back an overpayment?

Yes, employers can ask for repayment of overpayments. If there is a clear understanding of your pay rate, courts usually support repayment. However, if the overpayment was a mistake without prior agreement, the situation may be more complex.

Q: Can you refuse to pay back an overpayment?

You may be able to refuse repayment if the overpayment was due to your employer’s error and there was no agreement in place. However, if there is a clear agreement about your compensation, refusing may not be legally justified.

Q: Do I have to pay back a payroll error?

Typically, if a payroll error results in an overpayment and there is a clear agreement on your pay, you are required to repay the excess amount. If the error was solely the employer's fault, recovery may be more challenging.

Q: Do I have to pay back a payroll mistake?

Yes, if a payroll mistake leads to an overpayment and there is an agreement about your compensation, you usually must repay it. If the mistake was due to the employer's fault without an agreement, the obligation to repay could be less clear.

Full question:

My employer overpaid me and is requiring me to pay this money back. Am I required by law to repay this amount?

Category: Employment
Date: 04/07/2025
State: South Carolina

Answer:

There is some reluctance by courts to allow an employer to recover compensation paid to an employee when the payment was based on the employer's error and there was no agreement between the parties that gave the employer the right to recover the overpayment. However, when there is an agreement as to compensation and it is based on an hourly amount or salary, courts will generally require the employee to repay an overpayment.

This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.

FAQs

Can an employer make you pay back for a mistake?

Yes, an employer can generally require you to repay an overpayment made due to a mistake. However, this often depends on whether there was an agreement regarding your pay. If the overpayment was due to the employer's error and no agreement exists, they may have a harder time enforcing repayment.