Anyone out there have a red stapler?. This is a story right out of Office Space, someone that got paid for a job they didn't do. Talk about some data quality issues in your HR system.
Someone accepted a job, but then backed out just before starting. However the paperwork went through and he started getting paychecks from Avaya no less, for five years and never reported it. I can only assume he must have shown up, filled out paperwork, and then quit and his manager never sent in his termination papers.
This is definitely a good reason for some of those HR systems that ensure managers are doing reviews, assigning bonuses, etc. to their employees. At least they would make it easy for you to spot a name on your list that didn't work for you. Or didn't work there at all!
So it's Friday, you get unexpected paychecks, or large amounts of money in your bank account...
What Do You Do?
This is an easy one, right? You report it to your bank, track it down, and report it to the company. And you have it all in the account ready to turn back over to the company when it gets straightened out.
Arguably you could keep the interest generated. After all, you're managing their money, but that's probably a different debate.
What if your neighbor tells you this happened? Or someone from softball or bowling, a good friend of yours, a co-worker. Do you turn them in?
Honestly I think that everyone needs to bear responsibility for their own actions and this, while immoral and illegal, isn't necessarily affecting society or even individuals. I would think this would get discovered at some point, hopefully before 5 years, and the person would have to deal with the potential criminal and financial penalties.
So I don't think I'd turn them in.
It would be different if it were my department. I wouldn't let that go on and I'd certainly expect the person to pay things back, especially if I owned the business. However I have a hard time breaking personal loyalties for somewhat victimless crimes.
So what would you do?
Steve Jones
The Voice of the DBA Podcasts
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