An overpayment occurs when an employee is paid for wages at an incorrect rate or for work not performed. FIU is required by law to recover these overpaid funds. Established university, state and federal regulations govern the overpayment process. To comply with these regulations, an employee is required to notify their department immediately if they discover an overpayment on their paycheck. Departments should reconcile their payroll on a timely basis to ensure that no employees have been overpaid.
The most common types of actions that result in overpayments are leave of absences, contract cancellations, and terminations that are not processed in a timely manner.
Overpayments can occur due to the following reasons:
- Inaccurate or falsified timesheets.
- Late cancellation of contracts.
- Department requests a retroactive payment for hours previously processed.
- Retroactive revision or error in an employee’s compensation rate.
- FTE (full-time equivalency) change that is retroactive or not submitted by the deadline.
- Late termination paperwork.
- Leave without pay TRC’s not reported on the timesheet for an employee with insufficient leave accrued who did not work their entire schedule.
Once the overpayment is identified, the Payroll Department calculates the total gross, tax, deductions, and net overpayment. These figures are communicated to the employee and the corresponding department by e-mail. The employee must return the complete amount or make payment arrangements within an agreed time period. The Payroll Department is responsible for the collection and tracking of payments as they are remitted. If the employee does not respond to the initial e-mail by the given established deadline of two weeks, a certified letter is mailed to the address on file as a final attempt to collect the debt.
If no response is received within 30 calendar days from receipt of the final letter, then the debt is sent to an outside collection agency.
Please refer to the Board of Trustees Regulation: FIU 1111: Employee Debt Collection