i hate having to "pay" for others who make a mistake

[Ms Grumpy]

What a bummer Shaun. I would take the printout that you were given and show them that according to "their" accounting dept., that you were paid up until Jan. If they won't back down on taking the payments, then I would ask that they stretch them out, make them lower, for a longer period. They might do it.

Shaun's predicament reminds me of something that happened many years ago. To start it out I have to tell you that my Manager was on vacation through all of what happened. I was an Asst Mgr at a restaurant and it was payday. Checks were passed out, nothing out of the normal. A few days later one of my employees came in with a new vehicle. We all wondered how she could afford it, but never really questioned her.

A few days later I got a call from the payroll dept. asking me if I had an employee named Jane Doe (we will use this name to protect the guilty), and if she had showed up for work for the past week. I told them that Jane had been in for every shift that she was scheduled and I asked them why. They told me that there had been a mistake on Jane's check. Jane had taken a vacation and the hours that were on Jane's check for her vacation were miscalculated.

This is what Jane should have got:
40hrs of vacation time @ $10.00 = $400.00

This is what Jane check said :
400 hrs of vacation time
40hrs of vacation time @ $10.00 = $400.00
plus
360hrs of Overtime @ $15.00 = $5,400.00
So her check was $5,800.00 before taxes. And she cashed it !! And she spent it on a used vehicle. I was shocked. Jane happened to be working at the time and I called her into the office and she spent the next hour on the phone with the payroll dept. Long story short, she said that she cashed it because she figured it was their mistake and that she thought it was money that was owed to her. She agreed to pay it back. I moved not to long after that and never knew what happened until 6 years ago. Here is the kicker.....she still works for the company.....and is in a Management position....16 years later.