Jul 9, 2025
Payday should be routine — but for a Wayne County, Michigan, employee, it turned into a million-dollar-plus shock.
At the end of May, the woman — a 20-year county employee — discovered her paycheck had ballooned to an astonishing $1.6 million. She quickly did the right thing by notifying her manager and returning the money. But the mistake had broader consequences: Two county employees were fired over the error and a third was suspended.
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County officials told WXYZ 7 News Detroit that no such payment should’ve been authorized, yet the massive sum landed in her account anyway — raising serious questions about how such a glaring error slipped through.
The payroll mishap
The employee had just gotten a raise and needed her payroll information updated, but her new compensation was entered incorrectly. Instead of typing in her new hourly rate, payroll staff typed in her (much longer) employee ID number.
The payroll system didn’t flag the outrageously high sum.
“I can tell you that there are multiple failsafes, theoretically, built into the system," Wayne County executive Warren Evans told WXYZ. "And at least three of those didn’t work."
Wayne County had recently upgraded its payroll system to a new software platform run by Oracle, and this wasn’t the first time the new platform had authorized incorrect payments. In fact, 400 county sheriff employees reported severe underpayment in August 2024, with some receiving less than a single dollar.
WXYZ reports that county employees say the switch to the new system has been anything but easy. The upgrade was delayed for years and employees say many of them are still not properly trained on it. County commission Alisha Bell says the whole system should be investigated for other errors.
“It could have been $100 here, $200 here, you don’t notice the small amounts,” she said. “But obviously you’re going to notice if it’s a million dollars.”
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Ensuring your checks are accurate
There’s nothing more stressful than receiving incorrect paychecks, whether you’ve been overpaid or underpaid. You could be getting shortchanged for your hard work or risk getting in trouble for receiving too much.
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Make sure to always review every paycheck you receive to ensure the correct amount has been paid, as well as for accurate tax and benefit deductions. Always keep your time sheets, salary offer letter and employment contract accessible.
Financial planning apps can also help by sending instant notifications when your paycheck hits your account, making it easy to catch errors right away.
If you suspect your paycheck is wrong, notify your employer immediately. Provide clear, written documentation to human resources, including the exact dates and amounts involved. Compare what you were paid to your offer letter and, if you’re an hourly employee, bring your time logs. Be sure to document when you alerted HR in writing so there’s a clear record that you didn’t try to withhold or hide any overpayment.
If you’re overpaid, avoid spending any of that money. Even if the mistake was your employer’s fault, they’re still entitled to recover it. That said, employers often must follow specific rules about how much they can deduct from each paycheck to recoup overpayments.
If you’re being underpaid, you may be entitled to back pay or even interest payments. But if your employer doesn’t address the issue, you may need to escalate it. You can file a complaint with your state labor department or consult a labor attorney for further guidance.
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Chris Clark is a Kansas City–based freelance contributor for Moneywise, where he writes about the real financial choices facing everyday Americans—from saving for retirement to navigating housing and debt.
