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The state of Oregon’s new payroll system, Workday, continues to cause headaches for employees.
As WW first reported in January, the system, which went live Dec. 1, underpays some employees and overpays others. Workday also provided a payroll system to Multnomah County that was so glitchy that the county paid a $2 million settlement last year to county employees. The state’s largest public employee unions, led by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, have sued the state over the problems Workday is causing for their members.
The newest problem: Workday failed to complete the automatic deduction of union dues from some members’ paychecks on March 31.
“Union dues for some AFSCME, Oregon Education Association and Oregon Public Safety Association employees were not collected from employees,” says Andrea Chiapella, a spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Administrative Services, which oversees the state payroll.
Chiapella explains the issue was a programming error.
“The system was configured with a monthly cap on the amount of union dues that can be deducted in a calendar month,” she says. “There were two end-of-month pay periods in March (March 1 and March 31), which is uncommon, and so the cap was triggered.”
The sort-of bright side: Only a fraction of the tens of thousands of union employees were affected.
“Dues for 2,180 employees were not deducted,” Chiapella says. “The state will be responsible for covering the fees.”
That’s because of an existing law, ORS 243.806(9), which says, “If a labor organization provides a public employer with [a list of members] and the employer fails to make an authorized deduction and remit payment to the labor organization, the public employer is liable to the labor organization.”
The cost per employee varies with salary, but for some employees at the top end of the pay scale, dues are more than $70 per month, so the glitch could easily have cost more than $100,000.
Chiapella says the state and Workday are working aggressively to fix remaining challenges with the new system. “DAS believes it is on the right track, but we are going to experience issues for a few more months,” she says. “The vast majority of employees are receiving the correct pay on time and fewer employees are being negatively impacted.”
Pati Urias, a spokeswoman for Service Employees International Union, says members are frustrated Workday remains so buggy.
“We continue to be concerned about the state’s inability to fix this issue,” Urias says. “Our union has worked with DAS to highlight issues and find solutions. We will continue that process, but these issues are unacceptable.”