Manager personally responsible for a clerical error?

[Gringo80]

My wife is a departmental chairman at a local college. Last month her computer crashed just as she was finishing sending in the departments payroll for the month. It took a few weeks to find the bug and fix it. During that time she used my computer. She just received notice that, during this time, one teachers payroll instructions never reached the payroll department and now she, my wife, is expected to pay the teacher personally for the missing paycheck. The teacher is not an employee of the university but it paid via a special request for outside services. My wife asked about putting the paycheck through now but was told that it is not possible.
Is this really the way it works here, that a departmental chairman is liable for a clerical error?
Do we have any recourse?

 

[Stantucker]

Of course I don't know legally what your wife must do, but on the face of it, it sounds absurd that she be required to pay personally the missing paycheck.

Isn't there a way for them to check and see that money never left the college's account and for her to simply resubmit the parole instructions?

I wouldn't do anything yet.

 

[Gringo80]

We're at the early stages of working on this problem. There seems to be no question that the college never disbursed any money for this payroll item.
My wife has asked to speak to the payroll managers superior and I have urged her to consult her personal accountant.

 

[nikad]

Unless there is theft involved, which is not the case, I have never heard of such a thing.

 

[Quilombo]

This is like when restaurant owners in the US and Canada try and make servers pay when someone dines and dashes, 100% illegal