'My job owes me $20,000': After 7 months of paying employees less than they owed, company corrects their mistake, then refuses to give any back pay claiming it's not allowed

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Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Sep 23, 2024 7:00 AM EDT

What would you have chosen if you had to choose between fighting for what is rightfully yours and keeping your job? This might sound like a terrible choice to make, and it is, but unfortunately, many employees have to make that choice whether they like it or not.

Imagine you discovered that your company has made a mistake in your paycheck and has been paying you less than you deserve for over 7 months. Even after the company admitted to the mistake, they still refuse to pay you back for the 7 months of wrong paychecks, which amounts to around $20,000. Since you know for a fact that what their doing is illegal, If you press on and threaten to sue, you will probably win and get that money, but you will also most likely be fired from your job. However, if you keep quiet and let it go, not only do you lose $20k, but you also lose a significant amount of your dignity and integrity. Either way, you lose something you do not deserve to lose.

While you ponder over your choice, keep scrolling to read the full story this dilemma is based on. After you are done, click here for a story of a resident who refused to give it to their neighbors' demands.

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10407222528
    via KHUNKORN

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    My job owes me $20k in back pay but claims it cannot because it's considered a "public gift," is this legal?
    via houseofgaylord
  • 03
    I work in WA state and am a public employee. My agency is primarily federally funded. About a year ago, my job did a salary study and adjusted everyone's
    via houseofgaylord
  • 04
    pay scale, but evidently they didn't properly adjust everyone's salary based on experience. Some folks' new salary did get experience included into their
    via houseofgaylord
  • 05
    salary adjustment, and some did not, including myself. Almost everyone got an adjustment at the time, including myself. There was not much transparency from
    via houseofgaylord
  • 06
    HR or my agency leadership on how adjusted salaries were calculated. Fast forward about 7 months and a percentage of my colleagues and I received an
    via houseofgaylord
  • 07
    email from HR acknowledging this salary calculation mistake and notification that our salary from here on out will accurately reflect our experience. The email did not state anything about back pay. I
    via houseofgaylord
  • 08
    learned from leadership that according to the agency's legal counsel, backpay for public employees is not allowed because it would be considered a public gift. A few brave souls (not
    via houseofgaylord
  • 09
    me) have attempted to approach this with HR only to have HR shut down the conversation and say nothing can be done. Is my agency's claim that this would be considered a public gift and
    via houseofgaylord
  • 10
    therefore bar us from getting pay that we deserve? Or is it E ? What state agency should I consider reaching out to? I believe those who received this email & salary adjustment are non-union represented folks.
    via houseofgaylord
  • 11
    Jim_84 the agency's legal counsel, backpay for public employees is not allowed because it would be considered a public gift That's total B and their legal counsel knows it (if they even actually talked to their legal counsel). They're just
    via Jim_84
  • 12
    hoping you go away and don't make an issue of it as $20k is a decent chunk of change. If they'd accidentally calculated the amount in your favor, you can bet you'd be on the hook for paying them back. You need to reach out to the Washington State Department of Labor and/or a labor attorney.
    via Jim_84
  • 13
    WoggyPuff-775 They owe you from day one of the original salary adjustments. It's not your fault that they miscalculated. Back pay is earned money. It is not a gift or award.
    via WoggyPuff-775
  • 14
    multipocalypse I cannot for the life of me figure out how paying a retroactive raise in salary could possibly be considered a gift. It's wages for work done.
    via multipocalypse
  • 15
    fitbabits If it's legally owed to you, and that can be proven, they are obligated to pay you. It would not be a "public gift."
    via fitbabits
  • 16
    HopefulSunrise Today I worked in payroll for a State agency. We regularly calculated, processed, and paid back pay based off of reclassification studies.
    via HopefulSunriseToday
  • 17
    Sometimes it would be over a year and a half of back pay (it's the government, that shouldn't surprise you). The "gift" thing is
    via HopefulSunriseToday
  • 18
    Loscarto I think your best avenue is to talk to an employment lawyer in your area. Will get the most reliable answer that way. Can even tell you to which agency to complain to. Keep in mind, if you can and do sue, they WILL likely fire you or put pressure on you to quit.
    via Loscarto
  • 19
    AUDITING ARMA inlandauditingmedia I am an investigative journalist here in Washington State, largely working out of the Seattle area. I work on government accountability and transparency stories. Reach out to me by private chat here. I'd like to learn more about your issue.
    via inlandauditingmedia
  • 20
    Decent-Dot6753 The issue here is that they never said what they were going to pay you, nor were salary negotiations ignored. Scenario 1: I have decided to negotiate my salary with you. We
    via Decent-Dot6753
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    have reached a reasonable wage and agreed on the start date for the salary adjustment. However, there was a mistake in the bill, which means I did not get the salary. In this case, you would be owed money because you and the company agreed on the wage.
    via Decent-Dot6753
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    Scenario 2: My company has adjusted salaries to appear more fair. Some people's salaries did not get adjusted until several months later when they realized they had made a mistake in their adjustment. They acknowledge
    via Decent-Dot6753
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    their mistake and fix it moving forward. In the scenario, there was no previous agreement for a different salary. They don't owe you that money.
    via Decent-Dot6753
  • 24
    AnnafromMT I am a federal employee and we absolutely do get back pay (sometimes with interest) when a mistake happens and we aren't paid the full amount we should have been. I have never heard of anything being considered a "public gift"
    via AnnafromMT

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