If my ex-employer overpaid me on my last paycheck, can I keep it?
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If my ex-employer overpaid me on my last paycheck, can I keep it?
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Asked on March 30, 2017 under Employment Labor Law, Connecticut
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
The law does not favor what is called "unjust enrichment". In other words, in a situation where one person is enriched at the expense of another in circumstances which the law treats as unjust. Here, you would benefit from your former employer's mistake and benfit from something that you did not earn. Where an individual is unjustly enriched, the law imposes an obligation upon them to make restitution. Consequently, you are legally obliged to repay your former employer for the overpayment. And if you think about it, if you had accidentally been underpaid, your ex-employer would be obligated to pay you the shortfall.
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