Honda says that it miscalculated the bonuses from employees. Then asks employees to pay back the extra amount that was overpaid. Hundreds of employees in its vehicle plant in Ohio were asked to pay back part of their bonuses. The company gave them nine days to return that money.
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Furthermore, in a memo sent to employees at its Marysville factory, it said that it miscalculated the bonus amount. Employees were given two options: they could either return the extra money upfront or have it deducted from future paycheques. Those who failed to respond would automatically have the money deducted from their salary. “Not a lot of people can handle this kind of a hit,” the wife of a Honda employee told NBC News, speaking on the condition of anonymity. She said her husband had been asked to return almost 8% of his bonus, which amounted to hundreds of dollars.
“That’s, you know, a car payment. That’s half of our mortgage,” she said. “That’s two, three weeks’ worth of groceries. That’s a lot of money for us.” Legally, though, it appears that Honda is within its rights to ask for the money back. A law professor at the Ohio State University, Sarah Cole said, “Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which applies to all employers in the United States, it’s quite clear that overpayments of bonuses or wages can be recouped by the employer.”
Bonus payments
The automaker confirmed that it had overpaid its employees but refused to disclose by how much. “Earlier this month Honda provided bonus payments to its associates, some of whom received overpayments. Issues related to compensation are a sensitive matter and we are working quickly on this item to minimize any potential impact on our associates. Since this is a personnel issue, we have no further information to provide related to this matter,” the company said in a statement. The wife of one employee reportedly said her husband was asked to return almost 10% of the bonus. Honda’s overpaying bonus comes in the backdrop of the company facing supply chain, chip shortage, and logistical issues. Last month, Honda announced that it would slash production by up to 40 percent in Japan in September.
Moreover, the Japanese car major is mulling discontinuing its diesel cars in India as it cannot make its model work as the Indian government introduces stricter emission norms. “We are now not thinking too much about diesel. It’s very hard to clear RDE with the diesel. Even in Europe, most of the brands could not continue with diesel.” the company said in a statement.
