Pay Now...or Can They Wait?

FunHRBanker

One of my HR colleagues (who is not currently a member...yes, I'm trying to sway her to the dark side HR Hero!! x:D) has a situation. An employee on his 2nd shift didn’t punch out for lunch and it threw off his whole paycheck by 7.75 hrs. His wife is freaking out and wants it paid NOW. She wants to know if they are legally obligated to pay it NOW or can wait until next week’s check. My answer was that I'm pretty sure they can wait until the next regular check, but I'm second guessing myself. What say you?

stilldazed

Your friend's state will dictate how promptly to make pay corrections. If not, company policy certainly will.

We have a tendancy to bend over backwards, and because payroll doesn't actually close until a few days after paychecks are issued, we typically try to make prompt pay corrections. We find that it's just easier to get it done quickly. However, we are not in the habit of letting a spouse dictate our activities RE: employees. We defer to the employee and let the employee manage the spouse. An irrate spouse calling my office would not result in a payroll correction. An employee visit or call to my office would.

best wishes

Rockie

Our policy is ....if it is the fault of the employee, they will get the correction on the next payday; if it is something that we did to cause the issue, then we will correct immediately. You ARE dictated by laws of your state, so check with your attorney.

I, too, would not allow any conversation of an employee's business to be discussed with a spouse or anyone else that is not the employee. I have had spouses and parents call wanting to know about issues with employees, i.e., terminations. My answer is "I'm sorry, I cannot discuss a confidential personnel matter with you concerning an employee."

Muti

I agree with the others, first check your State's law on wage payment - some States allow for the possibility of an error in pay and will give you more time - particularly when you were compliant in paying what was recorded as the employee caused the issue.

I'm always amused by a spouse or parent who makes demands such as your example. Don't they see how bad that makes the employee look?