CONTROLLER'S OFFICE

Payroll

Overpayments

Overview

The Payroll Office strives to provide timely and accurate payments to faculty, staff, and student employees in accordance to university payroll schedules and the information it receives from Human Resources and employee departments. Occasionally, unexpected events may result in an overpayment to an employee. When an employee is paid more than the amount earned for that period, this is considered a legal debt to the university and the amount must be returned to Rice as soon as possible.

Notification

When a department becomes aware of an overpayment, the department must report this to the Payroll Office immediately. An email providing the employee's name, iO Person Number, applicable dates and amounts, and a brief explanation of the cause for the overpayment should be sent to Payroll and the department's HCM Initiator or Admin Specialist responsible for iO transactions. Payroll will evaluate the overpayment, calculate the amount to be returned by the employee, and respond accordingly.

Responsibilities

Employees are expected to review their payslips every pay period for accuracy and promptly report any discrepancies to their direct supervisor, department, and/or the Payroll Office. If an overpayment has occurred, repayment should be made as soon as possible (as required by state law) regardless of the reason for the error.

Departments are responsible for monitoring payroll transactions through iO using the Gross Pay or Payroll Actual reports in the Finance Dashboard and reporting overpayments timely to Payroll. Departments are expected to assist the Payroll Office in the efforts to collect repayments and communicate directly with their employees. Additional payments should not be processed to employees who have been overpaid without first consulting with Payroll.

Payroll is responsible for reviewing each overpayment and determining the best approach for correcting the error. Payroll will manage the repayment process, which includes: reversing direct deposits, determining repayment options, calculating repayment amounts, correcting employee payroll records, and amending employee W-2 and/or 1042-S forms when applicable.

Communication and Repayment

After Payroll reviews the overpayment, Payroll will share the repayment options with the employee's home department. The departments will communicate the overpayment and share the repayment options with the employee; the employee must choose one of the repayment options provided by the Payroll Office. It is the department's responsibility to maintain communication with their employee through the repayment process.

The Controller's Office is located in the Cambridge Office Building, also known as COB, at the intersection of S. Main street and Cambridge street.


In this building you will find the the following Departments:

The Cashier's Office is a division of the Controllers Office, however, it is located in the Allen Center, directly behind the Cambridge Office building.

Our Location:

Cambridge Office Building
6100 Main Street MS 70
Houston, Texas 77005-1827