Honda workers claim they are underpaid amid separate pay problems at Ohio plant
Maryville, Ohio (WCMH) — some Honda, Ohio workers claim they took home $10 paychecks Friday — for two weeks of work.
A Honda employee who spoke to NBC4 on condition of anonymity said, “A lot of people are wondering how we’re going to pay bills, feed the kids, get gas and access to work.” Told.
The employee estimates he lost about two-thirds of his paycheck on Friday, but said it wasn’t the worst.
“I’ve heard some people have zero balances. Some people have $5 to $10 across their salaries,” he said.
A memo Thursday shared with NBC4 by several Honda employees alerted them to the problem.
“Through our internal processes to maintain the quality of our payroll, we became aware of a tax withholding error that will affect tomorrow’s salary,” the memo read at the top.
Honda recently moved from weekly to bi-weekly pay and started using a new personnel system, workers said. Honda told NBC4 that this week’s payroll issues are related to the transition.
This issue affects employees on Health Savings Account plans. Contributions to HSA are not taxable income.
At Honda, single workers can receive an annual contribution of $900. A worker with dependents can receive $1,800.
Employees explained that while contributions to the HSA are still being made, the contributions add to taxable income, pushing into higher tax rates and putting pressure on wages.
“It’s unbelievable. We’ve never had an employer get our payroll wrong so many times,” said another Honda employee who also wished to remain anonymous.
Honda sent a second memo to employees on Thursday night.
“We are making prompt payments to affected employees to address excessive withholding on HSA Honda contributions,” the memo said, adding $225 to a single registrant and dependents who registered. We are offering $450 to a person.
“I personally work with a man who ended up losing over $1,000,” said a second employee.
The memo stated that these payments should be made on Tuesday, January 17th. It is unclear whether these payments are taxed as additional income.
A third memo sent Friday gives affected workers the option to take out a $1,500 interest-free payroll loan.
“This is almost a slap in the face for these people injured by this,” the employee said.
In a statement, a Honda spokesperson told NBC4:
“We are aware of the payroll tax related issues that are impacting some Honda employees and will be providing corrective payments and implementing an interest free payroll loan program to many affected employees starting this weekend. We are working quickly to resolve the situation, etc. We proactively reach out to our associates to alert them to the problem, apologize for the mistake, and let us know how we are fixing the problem. This issue is related to a new HR system and payroll process aimed at improving the overall employment experience for Honda employees. The matter is to fix the payroll issues as soon as possible and we are working diligently to ensure all employees are properly paid.”
Honda spokesperson
A spokesperson said Honda is still determining the number of employees affected.
This is Honda’s third payroll error in a year.
In December 2021, payroll software company Kronos was hacked, affecting wages for workers at companies across the country, including Honda. Workers told NBC4 it took up to nine months to receive the salaries they were missing as a result of the hack.
In September, Honda told employees in Ohio, paid too much bonus, and the worker had to pay back the money. Workers told NBC4 at the time that it would be difficult to pay off such a large sum at once.
Sarah Cole, a labor attorney and professor at the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University, said a series of salary issues could expose her company to legal liability.
“Neglecting this sort of thing can be very problematic for employers. There are a myriad of problems that can arise,” Cole said. “They seem like an ongoing problem that probably needs more attention.”
https://www.wdtn.com/news/ohio/honda-workers-claim-they-were-shorted-on-paychecks-at-ohio-plant/ Honda workers claim they are underpaid amid separate pay problems at Ohio plant