By Associated Press
Montgomery, AL – Several hundred state mental health and retardation department employees will have to repay more than 139-thousand dollars they were mistakenly overpaid, but some workers are asking the department to explain the decision. Overpayments were made to one-thousand-249 employees in amounts ranging from 43 cents to 761-dollars and 119 employees were underpaid from 54 cents to 715-dollars. Underpayments totaled more than 93-hundred dollars since April when the state went from 26 pay periods a year to 24. At least one employee, who was overpaid, has asked U-S Labor Department officials to look into the department's payroll system. Mental Health spokesman John Ziegler released a statement saying all underpaid employees will be paid correctly tomorrow (Friday). He said employees can refund overpayments by either having the amount withheld from one paycheck, spread over several paychecks or by using leave or compensatory time to make up the difference. Ziegler said additional training and explanations will begin today to help employees understand the pay system.