brandon j

Member
My wife today was told her contract that her employer wrote and signed form two years ago and last year was wrong they say that she was paid to much can they take the pay back from us she did not write the contract that they both signed whether the# was right or not are they bound to the contract or not?
 
I would say no. Deal is a deal, going forward is another story. Sure there's another bunch on here that know more than I do about the law. I'm sure not a lawyer, just what I think is fair.
 
A deal is a deal, and when you sign a contract, that's what you should get paid. It's really a lawyer question - the person with the better lawyer will win that one.

Beyond that it's hard to tell from so far away and with no real facts to go on. On a practical basis the boss might be hinting your wife should get mad and quit - you might consider checking around to see how much financial difficulty the boss is in.

On the other hand, the boss might be incompetent or a jerk. Let us know how it turns out.
 
Hmmm, I would think that:

If THEY screwed up and put the wrong number on the form that everybody agreed on, then no, she can keep it.

But if they just paid her more than was on the form by accident, then she would probably have to give it back...

Bryce
 
She was paid what was on the contract they have a chart that has what should have been in the contract but they didn't put the right number on the contract it was two steps ahead of where she should have been
 
I would bet it is a contract, if they are nice they will just move forward. You never get ahead taking money back from an employee.
 
As a teacher there is the "master contract" and our individual contracts. We are warned each year to check our individual contract to verify that it is the correct amount for our experience/years on the master contract and that we will have to pay back anything we are overpaid. This "payback" will be our responsibility, even if the district is the one that put the wrong number on our individual contracts.
 
Have they said they want the money back? Be careful reading something in that might not be there.

I"m not an attorney but unless there is something in the contract that states otherwise, I can't feature she will have to refund the money. But with that said it may be in her best interest to consider refunding at least part of the money if they request it.

It might be best to just let this play out. Let them play their whole card first. If they do request funds back then respectfully consider their request. Assuming she wants to keep the job there may be some room to negotiate a deal that works for everyone.
 
What kind of a future does your wife feel she has with this employer? How long does this contract run? Will she have an opportunity to renew the contract, and on what terms? This may be one of those instances where, no matter how unfair it may seem, you don't bite the hand that feeds you.
 
Is she an actual employee, or a "contractor"? That is, are her earnings reported on a W-2 or on a 1099? I think it matters in this case.

If she is an actual employee of the company and they want her to give back pay, she can get your state's department of labor involved and that will probably be the end of the matter. But if she's a contractor, now it's no longer an employer/employee matter but rather a dispute between two businesses. Say you sell 1000 do-hickeys to a customer for $10 each, and they come back later say they think they should have only paid $9 each. It's up to you to decide whether to refund them a thousand bucks or tell them to pound sand. You might give them a refund just to keep their business. Same thing with your wife: Will she be ahead to give them back the money so she can keep her job AT REDUCED FUTURE PAY? Or is she better off to say "thank you, but I'll keep MY money" and start looking for another job?
 
I would say they found someone else to do the job she was doing for less money so they want to break the contract with her.
 
The woman that did payroll overpaid about 60 employees by $5.00 an hour for two years. She had the company pay for a benefit that the employee was supposed to pay for. Honest mistake, she was not trained. The company fired the payroll woman and never asked for one penny back from the employees.
I heard they could go back two weeks but they did not even do that. Do the math, that was a lot of money.
 

All good intentions of the guys here aside, asking a question like this on an internet tractor site is a sure way to get poor information. You need to find out exactly what was done, her precise employment status and to get a copy of the contract. Then you need to find out what the companies intentions are. Then you need to talk to a professional, like a contract lawyer, about this.
 
They wrote the contract, but put the wrong amount on it? Their problem.
Lets hope there are no tax consequences like if they underreported her income.
A signed contract is binding on both parties, unless something in the contract is a violation of law, in which case it might be voided.
If your wife had been underpaid for two years, but she had agreed to it, she would have no recourse, either, unless it was less than minimum wage or something illegal.
 
Common sense says that if it's a legitimate contract, then you don't have to pay the money back.

Have they asked for the money back, or do they simply want to renegotiate the contract going forward?

You REALLY REALLY REALLY should ask a lawyer. I know most people hate lawyers, but you can't base your opinion on TV shows and personal injury ads. Real lawyers are generally good honest folks who are there to make a living helping you with paperwork.

Heck, most lawyers will answer this question for FREE. You would only need to pay them if your wife's employer took you to court for the back pay.
 
I would agree. They have a signed and executed contract that was signed by both parties. These people are crazy if they think they have a leg to stand on. What do they think the purpose of the contract was for?
 
As long as the figure was REASONABLE.

A signed contract is very binding - but not completely.

If I signed a contract to pay somebody 200,000 dollars to wash my windows for a year, when I clearly MEANT 20,000. I think I'd have a case for getting the money back.

But if both sides agreed to a high figure that was still in the realm of reasonable - then they've got to accept their foolishness and move on. For instance if I agreed to pay somebody 40,000 instead of 20,000 to wash windows.

Obviously going forward the contract would have to be re-written.
 
she was over paid about $7500 over 2 years the first year was after a big shake up with her work so it was hard to detecit on are end
 

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