Gwinnett County is doing what it should do about employee overpayment

I can't believe this is getting national news. I just want to see a little more common sense.

News outlets make it sound like the employees have been blindsided by having to pay back money they received in error.

The 180 employees involved knew back in 1994 that they were overpaid. The county paid them for 14 days when they should have paid employees for 12 days. They were told they'd need to settle it up later. It should be no surprise! The employees can pay back the money by using vacation days, etc.

Should it have taken 16 years to get the money back? Certainly not. But Gwinnett County isn't charging these overpaid people interest for the county's money they have had all this time. The county just wants money back that the employees knew they were paid in error.

It's like the employees received an interest-free loan for 16 years. Gwinnett County is doing the right thing for all the rest of us by collecting this money...it's our tax money after all.

If you loan someone money - interest free, don't you think you would have the right to collect that money? Of course you would, and just because many years have gone by, does that mean the person doesn't owe you any more? A debt is a debt, and the employees knew they would need to settle it up someday. Just because you forget you have a debt doesn't mean you no longer have the debt.

The media must be really hard up for news when a simple accounting issue like this gets air time - on NPR no less!

County Wants Employee Overpayments Back
NPR
In Georgia, about 180 Gwinnett County employees are being asked to return thousands of dollars the county says they were overpaid 16 years ago. ...