New Multnomah County Timekeeping System Overpays Some, Underpays Others In January Roll Out

"We’ve discovered, absolutely, there are some glitches."

Multnomah County River Patrol looks for mariners in trouble—and bobbing corpses—from a 31-foot Sheriff’s Office boat. (Daniel Stindt)
By Katie Shepherd

A new cloud-based payroll software and time management system rolled out in Multnomah County this winter has led to incorrect paychecks for many county employees in the first two pay periods of 2019.

The new system, called Workday, cost the county $4.2 million and will automate many timekeeping practices employees had to manually do in the past, says spokeswoman Julie Sullivan-Springhetti. It is part of a larger $42 million project called Multco Align, which the county says will modernize its financial and human resources divisions.

County employees across departments reported problems with paychecks in January, Sullivan-Springhetti says, as people adjusted to the new computer system. She says the county expects fewer problems as people learn to use Workday.

"We firmly believe this is a really good system," she says.

The Multnomah County Corrections Deputies Association collected more than a dozen complaints from deputies who reported incorrect pay stubs.

One officer said he received more than $1,700 over his usual pay. Another was shorted $324. Many reported their overtime and holiday pay were not recorded correctly and had been left out of their paychecks. Multiple employees said they had not been paid for days they worked, and at least one officer said he hadn't been paid for an entire week of work. Several people complained about their taxes and PERS accounts being affected by the over- and under-payments.

Sullivan-Springhetti says the county is aware of 11 people who did not get paid while on parental leave. The county is writing physical checks to pay people what they're owed, she says.

The county says it will be paying people their full pay rates as quickly as possible. A spokeswoman says people who were overpaid will have to return the money, but the county is working with employees to work out payment plans that won't cause hardships.

"We are absolutely not the federal government, we know people depend on these checks," says Sullivan-Springhetti. "We've discovered, absolutely, there are some glitches. When you're turning a ship the size of Multnomah County into the 21st century, I think you can expect [that]."

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