What is my wife’s responsibility if her employer has paid her insurance premiums but forgot to deduct her paycheck for them?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What is my wife’s responsibility if her employer has paid her insurance premiums but forgot to deduct her paycheck for them?
My wife is currently working for a company that offers health insurance. Over the last 8 months, they
have not been taking her insurance costs out of her paycheck. Her employer is now demanding her to
repay the 8 months of insurance that they did not take from her pay. Is this legal?
Asked on July 27, 2017 under Employment Labor Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
This comes under the heading of "unjust enrichment". This is where someone receives and accepts money or a benefit that they have not earned, many times due to another's mistake. This is the case here. In such a situation some states allow an employer to automatically deduct from the employee's paycheck for such an error. In other states, the employee must agree to a deduction in writing or agree to pay back/return the money/benefit. If not, then the employer can sue the worker in small claims court and/or terminate that worker. Therefore, your wife needs to repay the 8 months of insurance prremiums that her employer failed to charge her for. At this point, she should try and negotiate a repayment plan with her employer.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.