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posted by Fnord666 on Friday September 13 2019, @10:56AM   Printer-friendly
from the who-needs-a-payroll dept.

Submitted via IRC for SoyCow2718

NY Payroll Company Vanishes With $35 Million

This communique came after employees at companies that depend on MyPayrollHR to receive direct deposits of their bi-weekly payroll payments discovered their bank accounts were instead debited for the amounts they would normally expect to accrue in a given pay period.

To make matters worse, many of those employees found their accounts had been dinged for two payroll periods — a month’s worth of wages —leaving their bank accounts dangerously in the red.

The remainder of this post is a deep-dive into what we know so far about what transpired, and how such an occurrence might be prevented in the future for other payroll processing firms.


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  • (Score: 2) by jmichaelhudsondotnet on Friday September 13 2019, @01:52PM (9 children)

    by jmichaelhudsondotnet (8122) on Friday September 13 2019, @01:52PM (#893631) Journal

    they can actually withhold your paycheck completely and you have to beg for it back at a state agency, and they are under no legal compulsion to give it to you unless you challenge the law at the supreme court.

    That is close enough to slavery to me that I dont see the distinction. It is legal not to pay you for your work, after you agreed to do so. I wouldnt be surprised if those alec nutjobs had quietly pushed through laws like that in other places. Its legitimate to question if there is even a right to be paid in their city because the united states is such a nighmare country. It is little wonder there are problems with people losing their minds and getting aggressive at random.

    Besides that, what possible advantage can there be to having your payroll company be able to withdraw money from your account? That is literally insane, I would never give that right to anyone, ever, in any circumstance, for this very reason.

    literally

    thesesystemsarefailing.net (and it isnt an accident)

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  • (Score: 2) by RedGreen on Friday September 13 2019, @02:32PM (3 children)

    by RedGreen (888) on Friday September 13 2019, @02:32PM (#893655)

    "Besides that, what possible advantage can there be to having your payroll company be able to withdraw money from your account? That is literally insane, I would never give that right to anyone, ever, in any circumstance, for this very reason."

    None at all and I really fail to see how they got the permission to withdraw the money to start with. Here in Canada for that to happen you have to give permission to have money withdrawn from your account and then you must fill in the maximum amount that is permissible for that transaction on that form you fill out. That must be signed by you in person in front of an officer of the bank who witnesses it with their signature, no electronic submissions allowed, except by fax which is legally binding for other matters not this though.

    --
    "I modded down, down, down, and the flames went higher." -- Sven Olsen
    • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Saturday September 14 2019, @03:45AM (2 children)

      by RS3 (6367) on Saturday September 14 2019, @03:45AM (#893965)

      Do you guys have room for one more?

      • (Score: 2) by RedGreen on Sunday September 15 2019, @05:15PM (1 child)

        by RedGreen (888) on Sunday September 15 2019, @05:15PM (#894382)

        "Do you guys have room for one more?"

        Sure do come on by, though by the time you start paying the taxes you may regret it...

        --
        "I modded down, down, down, and the flames went higher." -- Sven Olsen
        • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Monday September 16 2019, @12:08AM

          by RS3 (6367) on Monday September 16 2019, @12:08AM (#894452)

          I'll live mostly on a barter system.

  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Friday September 13 2019, @11:59PM (4 children)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Friday September 13 2019, @11:59PM (#893909) Journal

    they can actually withhold your paycheck completely and you have to beg for it back at a state agency

    Or sue in court. That sort of begging has the potential to be a lot more expensive for them than begging at a state agency.

    That is close enough to slavery to me that I dont see the distinction. It is legal not to pay you for your work, after you agreed to do so.

    The obvious difference is that you can stop agreeing and then stop working. They can't force you to keep working for free.

    • (Score: 2) by jmichaelhudsondotnet on Saturday September 14 2019, @06:37AM (3 children)

      by jmichaelhudsondotnet (8122) on Saturday September 14 2019, @06:37AM (#893993) Journal

      From experience let me tell you, the one thing you cannot do is hire a lawyer. Emails not returned. No one wants this case.

      Yes, you can be homeless and eat at shelters, be chased by the police and all of the lovely advantages to not having an address.

      When there is no frontier, there is no place you can go and just work for yourself, or work on demand.

      There are many people who have put up with the withholding of paychecks, it's practically the norm in china, because they have no choice and because the employer is abusing their leverage in the situation with impunity. Basically being a bully with the full backing of the state.

      So no I don't think it is that obvious of a difference. I see a definite comparison to be made as I really have to think hard about whether I would rather be an escaped slave in 1840 or a homeless person in seattle in 2019.

      • (Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday September 14 2019, @12:00PM (2 children)

        by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Saturday September 14 2019, @12:00PM (#894040) Journal

        From experience let me tell you, the one thing you cannot do is hire a lawyer.

        Sorry, not feeling it here, particular since you then follow up this bald statement with the homelessness narrative. It's too bad you were homeless for a while. If you had a real case, rather than merely say you had a real case, you'd have found someone.

        Emails not returned. No one wants this case.

        So no talking with a lawyer in person?

        it's practically the norm in china

        There, they have real slaves too. That's what happens when you don't have developed world freedom.

        I see a definite comparison to be made as I really have to think hard about whether I would rather be an escaped slave in 1840 or a homeless person in seattle in 2019.

        Alternately, you can save money. This sort of false dichotomy illustrates how saving some "fuck you" money can make the difference. Rather than being homeless, here's the new scenario I came up with:

        1) Employer stops issuing checks that don't bounce. After about a week of runarounds, it's clear they're better at coming up with excuses than money. Give notice that you're leaving because of that. Now or in some period like two weeks is up to you.

        2) Estimate how much you are owed in wages. If it's enough to bother with (after the lawyer's fees), then contact said lawyers. Actually see them, if they won't return emails allegedly.

        3) Find a new job while living on that savings cushion you have. Six months should be enough time to find a new job.

        4) If you're not going the lawyer route, then sure, put in that beg at the appropriate state agency - reduce expectations appropriately. Else it's time for lawyers to work their magic. If you picked a competent one, you should see the money soon. Your wheel just got very squeaky.

        And there you go. You're out of the slave job and you might even see most of the money you're owed.

        • (Score: 2) by jmichaelhudsondotnet on Saturday September 14 2019, @08:22PM (1 child)

          by jmichaelhudsondotnet (8122) on Saturday September 14 2019, @08:22PM (#894137) Journal

          That is just not how it works.

          It really, really sounds to me like you haven't been there.

          None of it works like you say, this 'savings cushion' never materializes.

          You will be homeless before any lawyer money pays out and during that time you cannot count on anything.

          Saying you had a conflict with a previous employer hurts your chances of getting another job, and your pissed and you have like 0 dollars. You aren't going to be driving all over the city talking with lawyers.

          I have tried to contact lawyers multiple times for various things, getting an appointment is very difficult if no one knows you. They screen and every law office has a very special range of things they will do, most of which is not helping poor people.

          You really, really shouldn't talk to people who have had these problems like you know what you are talking about, you will push someone to kill themselves thinking it is just them and not the system.

          When it is definitely the system. You should give a large donation to a homeless shelter to offset how much your comment insulted me.

          • (Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday September 15 2019, @03:24AM

            by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Sunday September 15 2019, @03:24AM (#894234) Journal

            That is just not how it works.

            You're not the only person on the internet that's experienced employers failing to pay. I read their stories too. The ones with the best outcomes cut their losses and often involve a lawyer of their own.

            None of it works like you say, this 'savings cushion' never materializes.

            Materialized just fine for me. You have to save money first in order for a savings cushion to materialize.

            You really, really shouldn't talk to people who have had these problems like you know what you are talking about, you will push someone to kill themselves thinking it is just them and not the system.

            The problem here is that it probably is them - not the system. I get there's mental illness, bad luck, etc. I also get that saving enough money to be able to live off of it for half a year while you try to improve your life, is just not that hard.

            Blaming the system for your own faults is a lethal, often addictive sort of escapism. Suicide might well be a natural step somewhere down the road, but it's not going to happen because someone said harsh, but sincere words that needed to be said. My view is that even if I chose to hold back my words, the reality of the situation is going to do more to harm those people. They'll know deep down that certain, not very hard things they could be doing that would counter the effects of the "system" or whatever external force they happen to think is to blame.

            That gets me all the time even though I've come to terms with the fact that I'm just not going to be the ambitious go-getter (or many other fancy roles) I once dreamed I could be when I was a kid. I've mostly figured out my limitations and work with them rather than blaming external forces for the things holding me back.