Location: New York City
Hi all, I’m based in New York City and need help understanding whether my employer’s actions are legal.
I was on medical leave from 09/2024 to 01/2025 and received short-term disability income. During the initial part of my leave, my employer continued to pay me my full salary while I was working on providing backup documentation of the disability payments I was receiving. This led to an overpayment above 100% of my regular salary.
Once I submitted the benefit documentation, my employer began deducting the amount I was receiving from disability and only supplementing the difference to bring me to 100% of my salary for the remainder of my leave.
However, after returning to work, I was surprised to find that my employer started deducting $891.67 per paycheck (totaling $4,458.35 to date) to recover what they claimed was an overpayment – without any written agreement or signed documentation from me. I’ve asked several times for the policy or repayment agreement, and HR has now confirmed that no written policy exists and the process needs to be revised moving forward.
They’ve paused the deductions for now, but I haven’t received a refund of what’s already been taken. There’s still confusion around the accounting, and I’ve raised concerns about my W-2 being inflated, since I also received a separate W-2 from the disability provider. It looks like more income was reported than I actually earned.
I’ve met with both HR and our third-party payroll provider to try to resolve things, but I still don’t have a clear answer. At what point does this become a legal issue under New York Labor Law §193? Should I file a complaint with the NY Department of Labor or speak to an employment attorney?
Any guidance or perspective would be greatly appreciated!