New claims allege City of Seattle payroll issues are much worse than officials let on

New claims sent to MyNorthwest allege recent problems with the City of Seattle’s new Workday HR and payroll software are much worse than characterized by city leaders.

In a recent email, Office of City Finance Chief of Staff and Communications Director Julie Johnson confirmed errors with the new system are impacting employees and are not yet fixed.

“While we have had a less than 1% error rate across the last few payrolls for more than 13,000 employees, we acknowledge that challenges remain, and we recognize the impact this has on people,” she wrote in the email.

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After reading Johnson’s characterization, two city employees from two different departments contacted MyNorthwest and claimed a 1% error rate is nowhere near accurate and the city’s payroll error rate is actually much higher and it’s widespread. One of the workers claimed all city employees who have made deferred compensation payments have had money taken out of their paychecks, but money was never deposited in their Nationwide Retirement Solutions accounts, and the issue has happened for two pay periods.

In response to the new allegations, a city official said they don’t have a comprehensive count of employees impacted at this point. They also described the issue as “a highly fluid situation” and that they are working with Workday to resolve the issues impacting city workers.

Workday is a cloud-based software platform that combines human resources and finance applications to help businesses improve their operations and make better decisions. When the City of Seattle launched its new Workday-powered software system on September 3, it represented the city’s largest-ever digital transformation of Seattle’s Human Resources and payroll systems.

Part of the issue, according to the city, has been replacing its 30-year-old legacy system with newer technology. Challenges are not uncommon in major enterprise software transitions, a city spokesperson said.

Wednesday, police officers told MyNorthwest that over the last three pay periods, they received checks for only half their regular take-home pay that either excluded overtime or overpaid overtime based on a wrong rate and displayed inaccurate vacation and sick time accruals. One officer also described issues with the city’s deferred compensation program.

More details: Seattle city employees getting hit with paycheck issues due to a software change

A city electrical worker, who wished to remain anonymous, also said the payroll issue is being felt city-wide. He said he is missing 152 hours worth of leave and can’t use it until the issue is resolved. He claimed 1,200 union members were informed by city leaders, in July when they ratified their new contract with the city, they would not receive recently negotiated wage increases or retroactive pay until the Workday issue is resolved.

The city said some of the errors they’re experiencing are related to calculations in the system, while others stem from errors with workers entering their time. They formed an interdepartmental team that includes employees from the city’s human resources, payroll and information technology departments, and the Mayor’s Office to address Workday-related issues and coordinate on implementing fixes.

One employee who contacted MyNorthwest claimed the city has done a poor job communicating with employees.

“The lack of communication and warning to employees makes it seem that city executives are trying to hide the issue and hope we don’t notice,” they said. “Since our paystubs indicate that certain monies taken out were sent to the proper accounts, this seems dishonest and possibly fraudulent.”

They also claim some employees have contacted the U.S. Department of Labor.

The city is preparing for its next pay period which is scheduled for Oct 18. The city said it has teams in place to respond quickly and swiftly to make any needed corrections or system adjustments when paychecks go out.

Luke Duecy is a reporter, editor and anchor at KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of Luke’s stories here. Follow Luke on X, or email him here.