COMP NEWS – In March, Kroger paid out bonuses to 50 of its bakery managers. However, the bonuses were mistakenly too big – and now Kroger wants to claw the extra cash back.

CINCINNATI — Kroger employees complained for months about payroll mistakes that made their checks too small. But it turns out it’s also a problem if your bonus check is too large – and the company demands a refund bigger than the bonus and overpayment combined.

 

“It feels like a slap in the face,” said Tabitha Gilvin, a bakery manager at Kroger’s Hartwell store. “I worked hard to get that bonus. I just want what’s supposed to be mine.”

 

Gilvin is one of about 50 local bakery managers who received incorrect bonus amounts in March when they were included for the first time in Kroger’s store incentive program, according to Kevin Garvey, Local 75 president of the United Food and Commercial Workers union.

 

The program brought a pay boost to roughly 800 department heads in 110 Greater Cincinnati Kroger stores. Only the bakery managers ended up with incorrect bonus amounts, said Garvey, who is working on a compromise to allow workers to pay back their overpayment over time.

Kroger has received hundreds of union grievances and four lawsuits in recent years over mistakes in payroll.

The bonus problem follows a series of payroll mistakes that led to hundreds of union grievances and four lawsuits filed on behalf of Kroger employees in five states.

 

The lawsuits alleged the company’s new payroll system, known as MyTime, caused late or missing paychecks and mistakes in hours worked, wages paid and statements of deductions and withholdings.

 

Kroger has responded to those federal cases with arguments that it acted in good faith to identify and correct payroll mistakes. It also argued that employees failed to pursue grievance, arbitration and other remedies before suing.

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