Alberta arbitrator weighs in on case involving overpayment to architect, payroll deductions by employer

A recent decision on a case serves as a reminder to employers to treat overpayments as enforceable debts and comply strictly with deduction rules.

Recently, an Alberta arbitrator ruled that a municipal employee must repay a $27,335.44 wage overpayment, even though the employer violated statutory and collective agreement limits on when it could make payroll deductions.

In The Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 1505 v Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo —released Jan. 18, 2026—Arbitrator Mia Norrie found that the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) is entitled to recover a one‑time overpayment made to landscape architect Pankaj Harsora, but breached the collective agreement and Alberta’s Employment Standards Code in how it attempted to claw the money back.

The case was heard virtually on Dec. 10, 2025, under the Alberta Grievance Arbitration Awards system.

Overpayment and initial employer response

Harsora, a landscape architect in the Project Management & Facility Services Department, earns an annual salary of $141,414.40 plus benefits with the RMWB. An administrative error in pay period 15 of 2023 resulted in an overpayment of $27,335.44 on a single paycheque.

“There is no dispute about the fact that the monies were paid to the Grievor in error and he was not entitled to them,” Norrie wrote. “The Union has conceded that the amount was received and...

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