REMINDER: Check your paycheck

Employees and employers both have a responsibility for confirming their paychecks are correct. It’s not a common problem, but it is an issue for which members have turned to NSEA for help. Sometimes it’s a clerical error that causes an over-payment or underpayment of salary to a school employee. When it happens, it can cause economic hardship for a teacher or school employee. NSEA Director of Advocacy Isau Metes says reparations in such instances may have to be decided on a case-by-case basis.

Metes suggests that local associations remind or help members to review their first paycheck of each school year for accuracy.

“We recommend that each local assist its members, and new members in particular, with the computations to determine whether that first check of the year is correct,” she said. “Many of these problems could be avoided with such a service.”

If a discrepancy is discovered, members should notify NSEA immediately. Each month the issue goes unresolved adds to the amount the member will have to repay – or to the income lost if the member is being underpaid. The matter is further complicated when considering tax and retirement implications.

If you find a paycheck discrepancy, contact your NSEA Organizational Specialist at 1-800-742-0047.