The purpose of this policy is to establish procedures to be followed when an employee has been overpaid.
Overpayment occurs when compensation that is not owed to the employee is paid in error. This may include, but is not limited to, overpayment of wages, leave payoff in error, erroneous refunds of deductions, etc. Unearned payments to employees are prohibited by Article 7, Section 14, of the Louisiana State Constitution, which prohibits the donation of public funds. As a result, McNeese State University is required to recoup overpayments from both active and separated employees.
Employees will be notified immediately in writing by the director of human resources and student employment once it is determined that an overpayment has been made. The notification to the employee will include the following information:
The following repayment options are available:
If an employee who has been overpaid is separating from employment, the amount of overpayment will be withheld from the employee’s final paycheck. If the full amount is not recovered, then the guidelines below for recoupment from separated employees will be followed.
If an overpaid employee is transferring to another state agency, and the recoupment process has not yet been completed, the Office of Human Resources and Student Employment will notify the new agency that the employee has an outstanding balance due. The University will collaborate with the new agency to determine a reasonable approach for recovering the overpaid amount from the employee and ensuring that any funds collected are returned to McNeese State University.
The following repayment options are available:
If the University is unable to recover overpayments from a separated employee, the comptroller will be notified to begin the collection process.
If the employee disagrees with the identified overpayment, they must provide a written statement of disagreement to the director of human resources and student employment, along with any supporting documentation, no later than 15 business days from the date of the overpayment notification. The University will review the dispute and render a decision. Based on this decision, the University will either proceed with recoupment in accordance with this policy or dismiss the recoupment process.
This policy is distributed via the University Policies webpage.