My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: Arizona
Part time teaching gig ended in 2008 when the whole department was eliminated for a very large university. My services were paid by direct deposit and appeared to be in order. Amounts varied depending on class schedule and I no longer have copies of contracts from several years back. I do not believe I owe the money back. I spoke to former employer and got nowhere--three calls, three different people. Now "my debt" has been picked up/assigned to a collection agency.
1. Can a debt collector attempt to collect on a wage dispute since it is not a debt in the classic sense of the word?
2. Can the collection agency report this to credit reporting agencies and damage my credit if I do not agree to pay?
3. If I cannot prove the payments were justified, how can the former employer prove they were not justified? I have asked for contracts from them and have not received any documentation, just spreadsheets with numbers [wages] they contend were overpaid.
4. How do these cases typically turn out?
Thank you.

