Company's AI payroll tool decides one employee shouldn't be paid that month, tells them to wait for the next one: 'So now I'm sitting here debugging code while worrying if I'll be able to afford my lunches until this is fixed'

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JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Nov 4, 2025 10:00 PM EST

Change in technology comes with new challenges. Technology can make our lives so much easier. Think about what life was like before Google Maps. You would have to have a physical map that you would have to carry with you, make sure it was up-to-date, unfold it when you needed it, and figure out where you were based on cross streets and landmarks. If you were going to a new place, you would have to account for a lot more time to get there, in case something went wrong. Because it often did. Now we can open up our phones and have perfect directions in less than a second. But sometimes technology creates new problems. 

Sometimes the world moves at such a fast pace that we haven't quite figured out how to keep up with it. We're learning this in spades when it comes to artificial intelligence. It's amazing what this technology can do. I don't have to tell you all of the impressive stuff that AI can do. But when you lose the human element of something, you lose a lot. 

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  • Young girl is using laptop in office then leaving feeling angry and unhappy unsatisfied with work
    via Vitaly Gariev

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • One employee learned that the hard way when her paycheck wasn't quite what it was supposed to be. She was confused about her lack of funds, so she started poking around for answers. What she learned made her distrust her Company. Read on to see what happened.

  • My company’s new AI payroll bot decided I don’t deserve a paycheck this month...

    Made this post yesterday but it got deleted for some reason... so here's it again for anyone interested and could give me some advice; So I work as a junior software engineer at a mid sized startup that has been on a big Al kick lately.
    via u/devbydaydreamer
  • They keep talking about how automation is going to make everything more efficient. A few weeks ago they switched payroll to something called Eloquent Al.
    via u/devbydaydreamer
  • Yesterday was payday and nothing hit my account. I go in instead of working from home some days of the week and today I went directly to HR to ask about it, thinking it was just a delay.
    via u/devbydaydreamer
  • They sent me the email above. Apparently the system decided my timecard was "irregular" and paused my payment because it thought I wasn't active enough.
    via u/devbydaydreamer
  • I logged off a bit earlier one day last week for a dentist appointment, so maybe that was my great sin.
    via u/devbydaydreamer
  • What really gets me is that they told me this isn't a bug but just a part of the learning process.
    via u/devbydaydreamer
  • Like it's totally normal for a machine to decide who does or doesn't get paid. They told me it should self-correct next pay cycle.
    via u/devbydaydreamer
  • So now I'm sitting here debugging code while worrying if I'll be able to afford my lunches until this is fixed.
    via u/devbydaydreamer
  • The part that really worries me is they said it would be resolved "in the next pay period." We get paid monthly, not biweekly like a lot of companies.
    via u/devbydaydreamer
  • So they're basically telling me to wait four more weeks to maybe get my paycheck if the bot decides to behave.
    via u/devbydaydreamer
  • I'm genuinely starting to wonder if I should quit before the AI decides to optimize me out of a job completely.
    via u/devbydaydreamer
  • This month thanks to my boyfriend the rent was handled but what will happen next month?
    via u/devbydaydreamer
  • TL;DR: My company switched payroll to Eloquent Al, and now the Al decided I don't deserve to be paid this month.
    via u/devbydaydreamer
  • HR says it will "self-correct” next pay period, which for us means a full month.
    via u/devbydaydreamer
  • Young girl is using laptop in office then leaving feeling angry and unhappy unsatisfied with work
    via Vitaly Gariev

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Commenters gave her ideas on what to do.

    Nenoshka You need to go stand on someone's desk until they cut you a paper check. None of this "next pay period" sh\*t.
    via u/Nenoshka
  • jc88usus Nah, I had some stupid glitch in payroll result in me not getting paid once. I told them I was going to clock in, sit at my desk, do no work, answer no emails or calls, and go home afterwards until they got it fixed and I saw the pending deposit. I dared them to fire me, told them that they were in violation of federal labor laws, and if they tried to fire me, I would sue and file reports with the DOL. They tried to call my bluff, until a customer came in to talk to me, and I told them
    via u/jc88usus
  • gijimayu They didn't pay you. Report it. If they aren't happy, tell them to add it to the cost of going Al.
    via u/gijimayu
  • Luneth_ This can't be legal. I know things are fucked but surely we aren't at the a program can legally withhold your pay check arbitrarily without evidence level of fucked yet.
    via u/Luneth_
  • renaissance-Fartist What state are you in? If you were in Cali they'd be in a world of hurt for every day they don't pay you.
    via u/renaissance-Fartist
  • WeedLord70-1 Fuck that. You tell them they pay you what you're owed or they find a new coder, and then you look for a new job because that flag is crimson.
    via u/WeedLord70-1
  • sengiro not sure about your labour laws at your place but when my US based employer did this to me (Ontario, Canada) and told me that they would be late till next week, I called the ministry of labour and 3 way called the payroll. The guy on the ministry told my payroll about fines and investigation, i got paid 5mins after the call.
    via u/sengir0
  • cydril Report it to your state labor board and cc your director and hr. It's illegal for them to withhold your pay.
    via u/cydril
  • Routine_Breath_7137 MONEY NOW! Next pay cycle doesn't pay mortgage, car payments and put food on the table today. Craziness.
    via u/Routine_Breath_7137

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