Legal Question in Employment Law in Illinois
Employer Overpayment of Employee
I took an educational leave of absence from my job this past Fall. I have no income at the present time. I am in school. In a letter dated 12-12-02, my company informed me that they had just completed a recent audit, and that I was given my raise too soon. The raise I received on 2/25/01 should have gone into place on 5/20/01. They now want a personal check submitted for the amount of overpayment. Is this legal? Is there a statute of limitations on cases such as this? FYI, my company recently declared Ch 11 bankruptcy.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Employer Overpayment of Employee
It is certainly legal for the company to ask for repayment, but they have to sue you and get a judgment entered in their favor to recover it if you do not return it. It is not unusual for repayment or demand letters to be sent when a company files for bankruptcy - it is one way that the company can fund its bankrupcty case. You do not say how much the amount in question is, which may factor in to whether or not the company will sue you in the bankruptcy proceeding to recover the money.
Re: Employer Overpayment of Employee
On what basis does the company think that it paid you mistakenly? What possible documentation does it have that suggests that you were not entitled to the raise you received? Does the company have evidence that you agreed that you would not receive a raise until a particular point in time?
Sounds like the company has a tough case.
-- Kenneth J. Ashman; www.AshmanLawOffices.com
This communication is for educational purposes only and is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship, which could only be accomplished by mutual execution of a formal retention agreement.
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