Payroll taxes - employer paid it how?

Is this legal?

So a former employer of mine was shady anyway, but now I have some even shadier info about them (are you listening Dave?) It seems that they may have been paying the employer contribution part of payroll taxes out of the employee's salaries. They paid the employee's portion of the payroll taxes correctly, but the part that is supposed to be employer matched may have also been taken out of the employee's salaries. I'm going to dig up my old pay stubs and do the math. My friend (who sadly still works there) noticed this the other day on his check because the numbers didn't work out quite right.

This doesn't surprise me knowing what I do about the company. I don't miss working at a place where I couldn't trust anyone.

Legal, No. That's bad news there.

That's beyond bad news. That stuff'll get you padlocked.

Margie

WHOA! That's nuts. Depending on how long you worked there, I'd be the first guy to call an accountant, then a lawyer. Did you keep your pay stubs?

I'm going to look for some pay stubs tonight and do the math. I wouldn't be shocked at all really. We used to laugh whenever they would unveil the latest "bonus" program because we all knew they even if you met the requirements you would never see a dime. There would always be some sort of stipulation they forgot to mention. Or they would just flat out say there weren't paying a bonus after everyone busted their butts to meet the goal. We used to squirrel away copies of the Employee Manuals to use in our defense against sudden changes in policies. Eventually they stopped letting us have our own copies of the manual at all. They would hand out the manuals in a meeting, tell us to sign a sheet acknowledging we had read it and understood it, then take them all back up. Oh, and the meeting would be prefaced with a reminder that we were all employed at will and our employment could be terminated at any time without notice, but we also reserved to terminate our own employment without notice as well, so that we a relief.

Fun fun fun!

^

I am listening. So what you're saying is that they were pulling the full 12.4% out rather than the 6.2%? Just FICO or Medicare too?

I'd like to think I would have caught that, but I'll check my stubs.

This guy can be in MAJOR trouble with IRS. Messing with your 940's is punishable by death, or close to it. A padlock is the easy part.

DILYSI Dave wrote: I am listening. So what you're saying is that they were pulling the full 15% out rather than the 7.5%? I'd like to think I would have caught that, but I'll check my stubs.

Pretty much. Using your money to cover their contributions. And you know it isn't beyond feasibility either, not with that group.

It's pretty feasible that they will be making a trip to jail if they did. That's one of the things the IRS thinks is very unfunny. Check the stubs. The employers contributions shouldn't even be listed. If they did take it out of you pay, bust their butts over it. People like that just piss me off. They make the rest of us, that do play by the rules, look bad.

I wish you guys luck. Even of the IRS does jump all over them with track shoes, I will be surprised if you get your money back.

mad_machine wrote: I wish you guys luck. Even of the IRS does jump all over them with track shoes, I will be surprised if you get your money back.

But you might get some sort of whistle blower bounty from the IRS or whoever.

Call the GA DOL.

Done.

Marjorie Suddard wrote: That's beyond bad news. That stuff'll get you padlocked. Margie

This. I know of two different companies this happened to. In both cases, the upper management was playing fast and loose with payroll numbers and not properly reporting/paying the Feds. Come tax time when the employees began filing returns the house of cards came crumbling down.

Go back over your stuff (pay stubs, W4 copies, W2's etc) carefully. If you have already filed, you may be due a refund if you overpaid or (more likely and worse) you could have to pay if they underreported.

Brian - FYI, I checked over my first stub, last stub, and probably a dozen random ones in between and everything was kosher on mine. 6.2% SS and 1.45% MC.

DILYSI Dave wrote: Brian - FYI, I checked over my first stub, last stub, and probably a dozen random ones in between and everything was kosher on mine. 6.2% SS and 1.45% MC.

I am still looking for my old stubs. This may be something they just started doing. You can guess who caught this on his check, so maybe it is an isolated incident.

I'm 90% sure it was C, but it could be G.

DILYSI Dave wrote: I'm 90% sure it was C, but it could be G.

It was C.

On the flip side, I think I found a video clip of Larkin: http://www.bangshift.com/blog/Video-Why-You-Shouldn-t-Blow-Donuts-in-Your-Lifted-Jeep.html

slefain wrote:

DILYSI Dave wrote: Brian - FYI, I checked over my first stub, last stub, and probably a dozen random ones in between and everything was kosher on mine. 6.2% SS and 1.45% MC.

I am still looking for my old stubs. This may be something they just started doing. You can guess who caught this on his check, so maybe it is an isolated incident.

Just heard from C, he said they did it on his bonus checks. You might want to look at those. I'd look at mine, but I never got any. Guess that means I'm in the clear.

Thanks. Will do. I got a couple of small ones before they pulled the rug out from under me just as I had the big one coming due.

DILYSI Dave wrote: Thanks. Will do. I got a couple of small ones before they pulled the rug out from under me just as I had the big one coming due.

yep.