Q: I have an employee who has stolen by intentionally submitting payroll wrong, overpaying himself. What can I do?
This employee was responsible for submitting payroll for my company. I allow 10 days PTO per year as well as 2 days medical leave. He has taken 20 days off but paid himself for all. As well as 4 days medical. He is well aware of the pto and medical leave policies as he holds everyone else to those policies when submitting their payroll. He was salaried at $1500 weekly, adding up to 3600 total
A:
You can terminate him. You can report him to the police. You can discipline him. You can sue him to get your money back.
Before you do any of that it would be wise for you to locate and consult with an experienced employer-side employment law attorney to assist you with making the decision and advise you about the safest approach.
Good luck to you.
A:
Before terminating this employee, you might consider discussing this with him, along with documentary proof of what he has improperly taken, and to get him to sign an agreement that you can withhold 25% of the improperly paid money from his future paychecks until he is paid back. Or you could ask him to cut you a check for that amount in lieu of a withholding. BUT, if you do this without an iron clad written agreement, you could be violating the Labor Code by requiring repayment to you of wages earned. When an employee is overpaid like this you are entitled to recover the money, ONLY AFTER you either have a judgment (enforced by wage garnishment) or a written agreement to allow the withholding. An employer side attorney will have good advice to keep you out of hot water, and of the radar of an employee side attorney.
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