Shady Company Tries to Steal Employee’s Paycheck With ‘Payroll Reversal’ After It’s Deposited

The one thing people expect from their employers is to be compensated for their work in a timely manner. Can you imagine what would happen if, after purchasing something in a store, you reached into the cash register to take your money back? Or what if you turned in your rent and then cancelled the check before it could be cashed. Do you think your landlord would let that slide? Of course not. Under no circumstances should a company be able to "reverse payroll" on their employees. This is exactly what happened to one very pissed off redditor's wife. Luckily she was able to stop the payroll reversal before her employer could steal her wages, but some of her colleagues weren't so lucky.

Posted by Mel Dawn

“My wife’s employer decided to take her paycheck back after it was deposited” posted by u/Ok_Present_6508

The comment section

Redditors offered supportive words and advice in the comments. Some suggested that this might be a sign that OP's wife's company doesn't have enough money to pay its employees.

“Oh for sure. I already told my wife they are going to have to cover the fees. That’s not on us!” said OP.

“Your wife's employer is likely having financial issues and this is the first sign of trouble. She needs to start looking for a new job ASAP. Take it from somebody who worked somewhere that did similar things and ended up closing. I saw the writing early on and was able to find a job quickly. The coworkers who stuck around didn't do so well. When there's suddenly an influx of 20 people with similar qualifications, it gets harder to find a job because now you're competing with your previous coworkers” said u/Varstael.

“They are short on cash and not paying you. They might be shuttering the place. I would tell her to get all of her work product, coworkers personal contact info, referrals form supervisors, etc. as though she is quitting/being fired. Tell her to go in and demand a pay off of accrued vacation time as a compensation. Call the Dept of Labor and maybe the IRS/local tax board and let them know what is gong on. They might be able to help. EDIT: Consult a labor attorney on Monday and she can tell you next steps. In a lot of places employment atty’s are free or sliding scale. Don’t ‘wait and see’. Start to figure out your game plan this weekend. There is some very good advice in the comments below. Good luck to you !!!!” said u/Timely_Cake_8304.

“This was my first thought as well. Unbelievable they thought taking money from employees was a solution” said u/Charming_External_92.

"I find it odd they can issue a reversal without consent or the bank's notification. How the fuck was that allowed? It's almost like it's allowed or they had access to that account. I don't like that." said u/GamerGriffin548.

“No this was a normal paycheck. No overpayment or anything like that. It was direct deposited and they thought they could just uno reverse it.” said OP.

“Yeah. In most states that’s just regular theft and it’s illegal. You have to have consent to charge or withdraw from a bank account. There might be some stupid line in her contract that voids that rule but otherwise it’s illegal.” said u/A_Sane_Human_Being.

“Yeah I at least wish they’d do that for them. I’m stressing the fuck out over this. We’re going to be negative all weekend if the stop doesn’t work out. And I still have other payments that are about to go through.” said OP.

Read the original thread here.