An overpayment of wages can occur for many different reasons, such as inaccurate or delayed payroll processing, inaccurate accruals upon an employee's termination, payroll system failure or simple clerical error.
Regardless of the reason, an employee who is overpaid does not have the right to keep the overpaid amount and the employer is entitled to recoup it in full in a reasonable and timely manner.
An employer must comply with IRS rules and procedures to properly recoup overpaid wages from an employee.