A former cleaner for the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) is now the target of a civil lawsuit after a clerical mistake caused $620,000 in unearned overtime to be deposited into their paycheck in April. The overpayment was traced to a payroll error, though the agency has not released details on how the accounting mistake occurred.
MARTA filed the lawsuit following five months of unsuccessful negotiations with the former employee. The agency had initially tried to recover the funds directly, hoping to resolve the matter without legal action, but the employee has yet to return the money. Agency officials said they worked with the employee “in an effort to recover those funds” and hoped to avoid court proceedings.
Both the janitor and the employee responsible for the clerical error are no longer employed by MARTA. Under Georgia law, the transit agency is entitled to recover accidentally distributed funds. Employment attorney Andrew Coffman told a local station that while accidental overpayment cases are common, an amount of this scale is extraordinary and is not considered a criminal issue because the funds were sent directly by the employer.
Transit riders expressed moral outrage over the former employee’s decision to keep the money. One rider said she could not live with herself if she had kept the funds. In response, MARTA announced it has updated staff training programs and strengthened internal administrative procedures to prevent similar payroll errors from recurring.
