Paycheck Overpayments and Underpayments
The university strives to pay employees and student workers accurately and on time. On occasion, however, employees or students may be overpaid or underpaid.
Payroll errors are generally discovered through auditing in the departments, Office of Human Resources, undergraduate and graduate school employment offices, and/or the payroll office. Individuals are also responsible for ensuring that their pay is accurate. Consequently, employees and students are expected to review their paychecks for accuracy each pay period and to immediately report overpayments or underpayments to their supervisor, the payroll office, undergraduate and graduate school employment offices, or human resources.
It is the policy of Brandeis University to correct underpayments by paying individuals what is owed in the next pay period. In the case of overpayments, it is the policy of the university to recover the full amount of overpayment from the individual as soon as possible.
Applicability
This policy applies to all faculty, staff, postdocs, temporary employees and students who are paid by the university.
Guidelines
Underpayments
When it is discovered that an individual has been underpaid or believes he/she has been underpaid, the payroll office will review the situation. If determined that the individual was underpaid, the remainder of what is owed will be included in the individual’s next paycheck. Disagreements regarding the amount owed to the employee or student worker should be brought to the attention of human resources staff or undergraduate and graduate school employment offices for resolution.
Overpayments
When it is discovered that an overpayment has been made, the individual will be notified as soon as possible. Similarly, when an employee or student discovers an overpayment, the individual is responsible for notifying his/her department, the payroll office, undergraduate and graduate school employment offices or human resources as soon as possible in accordance with this policy.
Current Employees and Student Workers
Current employees and student workers will be required to repay the full amount of their overpayment in the next pay cycle if the overpayment occurred in one pay cycle. If the overpayment occurred over two or more cycles, the individual may elect to repay the overpayment over the same number of pay cycles that the overpayment occurred, generally not to exceed three months. Requests for exceptions to the repayment policy must be discussed with the human resources staff or the appropriate undergraduate and graduate school employment office, as appropriate, and approved by the vice president of finance and university treasurer.
In all cases, the payroll office will obtain the individual’s written authorization to deduct the overpayment from the next check(s). Failure to repay the university may result in criminal prosecution.
Students and Employees No Longer Employed at the University
Students and employees no longer employed at the university will be contacted and required to submit a check for the full amount of their overpayment. Exceptions to this policy must be discussed with human resources staff or the undergraduate and graduate school employment office, as appropriate, and approved by the vice president of finance and university treasurer. Failure to repay the university may result in criminal prosecution.