Legal Question in Legal Ethics in Ohio

Re: Receiving Extra Pay

The question your friend needs to ask herself is why is she getting these checks? If it is simply an error by the payroll department, and she knows that she should not get these checks but accepts and cashes them anyway, she may be guilty of theft. On the other hand, the checks might represent severance pay, they might represent payment for accrued sick leave or vacation pay, or there might be some other reason why she is legally entitled to receive these checks.

If she is receiving the checks improperly she may be compelled to return the money. That can be a real problem if the money is already spent. She would do well to talk to the human resources department at her former employer to find out why she is still getting paid.