Cleburne County teacher sues school board and Supt. over salary overpayments

A teacher at Pleasant Grove Elementary School in Cleburne county has filed a lawsuit against the Board of Education and school superintendent to stop the system from garnishing her wages for four years of salary overpayments.
Hollie White, has worked at the school system since the 1996-97 school year, according to her complaint, filed in Cleburne County Circuit Court June 25. White was mistakenly placed in a higher level on the salary schedule at the beginning of the 2006-07 school year and she stayed on that level through the 2009-10 school year, according to the complaint filed in the lawsuit. White returned that school year from taking medical leave during the 2005-06 school year, the complaint states. Two raises were awarded by the Legislature for teachers by the time she returned, so she didn’t notice the mistake, according to the complaint. In October 2011 she was informed of the mistake and her salary was adjusted to the proper level. The adjustment cost her $744.91 in monthly gross pay, a net of $475.24 on her October paycheck, the complaint said.  When she requested a report of the over payments, she received a summary that said she was overpaid $34,490.94 over the four-year period. White claims It didn’t say why she was wrongly placed, where she was placed on the salary schedule or the date which it happened.
White stated in her complaint that she received a letter from the supt. dated April 11, 2014, informing her that beginning in May and for the next eight years, $359.28 would be withheld each month to correct the overpayment.
White’s complaint asks the court to stop the garnishment. Her complaint states that the system doesn’t have the authority to garnish her wages without a judicial process. In addition, she believes that the law has a two-year statute of limitations on collecting the overpayments, which the school system has missed. She also asks that employees be provided information to allow them to verify they are being compensated at the proper level.
If a judge decides that she does owe the money to the school system, White asks for a judgement against any employees responsible for the mistake to cover the taxes and retirement contributions that were paid based on the higher income she was receiving as well as medical expenses due to the “emotional distress caused by the sudden and significant reduction in her compensation.”
White also asks that attorney fees and other costs be paid by the defendants.