Everyone loves a bonus, right? You get rewarded for your hard work, and you get a little extra spending money to save for a rainy day. So when your bonus check is a little higher than usual, are you really going to complain? Would you alert your bosses, in case they overpaid you? Would you give the excess back? Certain Honda employees, it seems, have run into that very issue.
After sending out bonus checks to workers at its Marysville, Ohio plant, Honda is now asking employees to send a percentage of those bonuses back to Honda corporate — meaning employees now owe money to their employer.
The Marysville plant employs about 3,900 workers, split between Honda and Acura vehicle production lines. This factory produces the Accord, CR-V, TLX, NSX, and Integra, and is home to Acura’s Performance Manufacturing Center, where certain Type S models are assembled by hand.
It’s currently unclear how many of those 3,900 workers received a bonus, and how many are now expected to return some of that money. Those that got a few extra bucks in their checks have already been made aware of their overpayment via a company memo which details options for those employees to pay the excess money back: Honda will accept a lump sum, an installment plan spread across several future paychecks, or a deduction from any upcoming bonuses.
Jalopnik reached out to Honda for comment, and received the following statement: “Earlier this month Honda provided bonus payments to its associates, some of whom received overpayments. Issues related to compensation are a sensitive matter and we are working quickly on this item to minimize any potential impact to our associates. Since this is a personnel issue, we have no further information to provide related to this matter.”
While the concept of repaying your employer sounds ludicrous, the law supports Honda’s efforts to get back that bonus money. Employers who overpay workers can, in fact, recoup the excess payments back — even, if necessary, by suing the overpaid employees. So next time your bonus check looks a little too generous, maybe set some of that money aside. You never know when your bosses will want it back.