Is this too much to believe? Would you give it back?

"SEATTLE - A few weeks after launching the first wide-scale layoffs in its history, Microsoft Corp. admits it screwed up a key part of the plan.

The company is asking some laid-off employees for a portion of their severance back, saying an administrative glitch caused the software maker to pay them too much.

Lou Gellos, a Microsoft spokesman, would not say how many of the 1,400 workers let go in January were overpaid, or by how much. Microsoft has said severance would be calculated by length of service and position in the company.

The Redmond, Wash.-based software maker is asking former employees for reimbursement, by check or money order, within two weeks, according to a redacted letter posted by the technology blog TechCrunch. Gellos confirmed the letter's authenticity."

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090223/ap_on_hi_te/microsoft_overpaid_severance_ 1

Would you give it back?

When the economy recovers, I would guess that the employees that give back the overpayment might have a better chance of being re-hired.

They may not have a choice. If it was indeed a mistake, they may be liable to pay back the company.

At a previuos employer, I once received a commission check for $13,000 when I was not supposed to receive anything for the month. It's quite possible they would have never figured it out, but I ended up telling HR anyway because I didn't want to get caught.

I'd tell them to sue me. I'll bet the execs aren't giving anything back.

Probably.

Actually, I would. The only situation where I wouldn't is if they had made the mistake in such a way that the expectation I would be receiving that amount was set.

In that case, it's done! It's not anybody's problem but theirs, if they hose it up that way. I don't think they did.

From the sound of this, it's likely they set the right expectation, but didn't perform well in accounting. That's a legit mistake, and something that should be paid back.

It all depends on the paperwork signed at termination. Severance is usually based on a requirement that you will not at any time sue the employer for any reason whatsoever, and the amount of severance is listed in the paperwork. Sign it and you collect.

If in the reported cases the amount on the check is greater than the amount on the severance agreement, then there is a legal basis for the ex-employee to return the overage. However, if the amount of the check is the same as the amount on the severance agreement, there is no legal basis for Microsoft to request a partial refund. If they made the error, they have to swallow the overpayment(s).

It is rare to be hired back after being laid off, and in any event that is a future occurrence. I wouldn't worry about being hired back. I'd follow the paper trail. If Microsoft is so inept that they can't even design an excel spreadsheet to do this calculation, they deserve to not get one dime back.

I think that the gentlemanly thing to do would be to return the extra money. Not doing so could have bad consequences in the future.

Vita-Like you we received a check from one of our clients that was obviously not meant for us. Returned it.

Thankfully that company more than tripled their advertising budget last year and so we made that check back and then some.

I'm with Andy. If they set the expectation that amount was the amount received, and the employee did in fact receive that amount, then tough.

That is setting the expectation that the amount received is the agreed upon amount. And like I posted above, that is a case where I wouldn't return it. All depends on the nature of the error.

...saying an administrative glitch...

That's not a bug in the software, it's a "feature"!!!

Change of heart from Microsoft.

From the Seattle P-I:

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/162629.asp

LOL!!!

They hosed it up! They did set the expectation that the amount received was the correct amount.

Letter of the law my ass. If that were true, the story would be a lot different.

Betcha all a cookie, they ate this one because they didn't have their act together, not because they are choosing to be "nice" about it.

"That's not a bug in the software, it's a "feature"!!!"

Send them some Macs !

.......Or a coupla copies of Mandrake...... ;o)

I can't help but underscore the humor in it. Microsoft developed a world class spreadsheet, taking visi-calc to unheard of, undreamt of heights as a business tool, and then make a bonehead programming error in calculating severance amounts. Then to compound the error, asked for a do-over when the sum and total of the amounts overpaid were hardly going to cost them very much. A PR nightmare. This is a small spot of humor in an otherwise dreary timeframe where so many including myself are at the end of our ropes.

From Benjamin J. Romano of the Seattle Times:

"After asking 25 laid-off Microsoft employees to return an overpayment of severance benefits, Microsoft's top human resources executive decided to let them keep the money. Calling it a "unique circumstance," Lisa Brummel, senior vice president of human resources, said the employees will not have to repay the overpayment, which ranged from a couple hundred dollars to over $5,000, but averaged about $4,000 to $5,000 across the 25 employees.

An additional 20 laid-off employees were underpaid severance. They will receive received checks making up the correct amount".

"unique circumstance" and "decided"

LOL!!

If they did hose it (and I suspect they did, or we would see different wording), then it sure is "unique" in the very best of HR ways. And that "unique" situation probably makes "allow" just a bit of a downplay on what probably was a perfectly valid exit transaction.

And that 20 underpaid people is ugly too! Can't exactly say "tough titty", because by their own admission an error was made. LOL!!

Look at this too! Ranged from $200 or so, to over $5K. So then, what about those few people right at the middle of the error curve? They get jack, because they probably got the right amount, or close to it.

Ugly, ugly, ugly.

Only an HR person would word this "unique circumstance" that way.

Betcha they are tossing a few Nerf toys in legal right now. That's otherwise known as a cockup!

--->Yeah I know. I'm an ass, but I just never had any particular love for Microsoft. Very brutal company. Not to it's people, from what I hear. And many people there are great people.

It's the corporate culture and all that really dirty street fighting they did early on. We have lesser computers in many ways because of these clowns.

On the upside there is a huge "fix it" economy running right now. We do need that, so maybe it all works out.

Microsoft spokesman Lou Gellos.....Former kgw tv sports guy

Lou Gellos was Sports Director at KATU after working at KING 5 in Seattle. He was fired when KATU brought back Steve Arena. His firing from KATU was probably the best thing ever to happen to him professionally. He landed on his feet at Microsoft and the rest is history.