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The $500M Dollar Typo

cockroachlabs.com

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Re: The $500M Dollar Typo

#5

Guess it was too difficult to just adjust the pay amount (with a deduction) for the next pay period?

From the article:

The second problem is, they have to get all that money back. If a federal employee is accidentally overpaid, the government can only recoup 16.67% of the amount of the overpayment per paycheck pay period. You can’t take it all back at once. So then they had to write a special payroll job to pull all this money back. It took ‘em like four or five months to get it all, but finally it was all accounted for.

Re: The $500M Dollar Typo

#6
post #5

Guess it was too difficult to just adjust the pay amount (with a deduction) for the next pay period?

From the article: The second problem is, they have to get all that money back. If a federal employee is accidentally overpaid, the government can only recoup 16.67% of the amount of the overpayment per paycheck pay period. You can’t take it all back at once. So then they had to write a special payroll job to pull all this money back. It took ‘em like four or five months to get it all, but finally it was all accounted…

I read that part, the language of the article makes it seem like they had to actively debit everyone that was overpaid to get the money back. Underpaying them on the next pay period wouldn't require any debits to the bank accounts where the money ended up ("take it all back"). Article doesn't have really have specifics to the solution. Rather what I mean is it's not clear what "take it all back" means: is that referring to direct debits to where the money ended up in, or is that referring to adjusting what goes out in the next pay periods?

Re: The $500M Dollar Typo

#7
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the article: The second problem is, they have to get all that money back. If a federal employee is accidentally overpaid, the government can only recoup 16.67% of the amount of the overpayment per paycheck pay period. You can’t take it all back at once. So then they had to write a special payroll job to pull all this money back. It took ‘em like four or five months to get it all, but finally it was all accounted…

I read that part, the language of the article makes it seem like they had to actively debit everyone that was overpaid to get the money back. Underpaying them on the next pay period wouldn't require any debits to the bank accounts where the money ended up ("take it all back"). Article doesn't have really have specifics to the solution. Rather what I mean is it's not clear what "take it all back" means: is that referr…

I don't think even the USPS can order your bank to transfer money to them, you would have to order it. As a result, I guess that the 'take it all back' refers to adjusting pay.

Re: The $500M Dollar Typo

#8
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read that part, the language of the article makes it seem like they had to actively debit everyone that was overpaid to get the money back. Underpaying them on the next pay period wouldn't require any debits to the bank accounts where the money ended up ("take it all back"). Article doesn't have really have specifics to the solution. Rather what I mean is it's not clear what "take it all back" means: is that referr…

I don't think even the USPS can order your bank to transfer money to them, you would have to order it. As a result, I guess that the 'take it all back' refers to adjusting pay.

I'm pretty sure that the agreement I signed to enable direct deposit allowed for errors and overpayments to be removed from my account.

Re: The $500M Dollar Typo

#9
post #8
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think even the USPS can order your bank to transfer money to them, you would have to order it. As a result, I guess that the 'take it all back' refers to adjusting pay.

I'm pretty sure that the agreement I signed to enable direct deposit allowed for errors and overpayments to be removed from my account.

I can't speak to what specifically you signed, but there is a process guide available here: https://about.usps.com/manuals/elm/html/elmc4_027.htm

It suggests that even if technically and/or legally the option exists to recover the money directly from you, it's not part of the procedures that govern this type of thing (...as of today. It may have been in the past. Indeed, these procedures may well have been drawn up pursuant to the event discussed in TFA).

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