Payroll issue has state employees coming up short

Raleigh, N.C. — Hundreds of the state's 86,000 employees could be missing money from their paychecks because of input problems associated with a new payroll system that began rolling out to state agencies last year.

Judy Hearn, a nurse at Dorothea Dix Hospital, is one of those employees.

"In my estimation, it's close to $1,700," Hearn said of the amount of overtime and shift differential pay she says she is missing.

Her employer, the Department of Health and Human Services, was among a number of agencies that implemented the $70 million system, called Beacon, in April after an initial phase of testing.

The issue, in part, is that it did not recognize overtime or differential pay some employees were to receive.

"Some of the issues also come with training on how to use the system," said Tom Lawrence, DHHS's director of public affairs.

But Lawrence said the agency is working to getting payments for employees on a case-by-case basis.

"We did about 25 yesterday," he said. "We expect more today, three to four times that many."

Other state agencies, such as the Department of Transportation and the Department of Correction, are also having similar pay problems.

Dennis Patterson, a spokesman for the controller's office, said there isn't a technical problem with the system. The issue is with individual departments entering incorrect information.

Dana Cope, executive director of the State Employees Association, says it could soon become a legal issue because federal law requires employees to be paid within a certain period of time.

"They should have anticipated these problems and we want them to be fixed," Cope said.

The Office of the State Controller, which oversees the system, says it expects to have the problem corrected by the end of July.

Employees can call hotlines to have their case reviewed, in Raleigh, 919-707-0707 and elsewhere in the state at 866-622-3784.

"If the state doesn't resolve this issue quickly by paying our state employees what they deserve and what they work for, then we will be looking to file a formal complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor," Cope said.

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I work for State Capitol Police under DOA. We started using Beacon in Jan, 2008 and still have problems in not getting payed, no night shift pay, over time, or all three. When the State Controller's Office representative said that we have been turning in the wrong paperwork is the reason are pay is wrong is true. Because Beacon (AKA State Controller's Office) keeps change the forms every month. Just last month I was given two different forms to fill out for Duel Employment. This has to stop!!! The State has they have been-aware of this problem or problems for six months and we (State Employees) still have to pay the price. My bills are getting behind, and I running out of savings. Like I said “THIS HAS TO STOP!!!”

NC Tar Heel Law
July 4, 2008 3:15 p.m.

I work for State Capitol Police under DOA. We started using Beacon in Jan, 2008 and still have problems. When the State Controller's Office spokesman said that we have been turing in wrong paperwork is the reason we are not getting payed, this is not true. Beacon keeps on change the forms. Every month we get new types of forms to fill out. From the start I have had problems with Beacon. Not getting Duel Employment pay, Night shift pay, or over time. This problem needs to be fix. My bills are getting behind, and I running out of savings. For six months they have known of the problems and we still get short. And the lame story is this, you have a computer program set up for Monday to Friday 8 to 5 work week and the state is trying to re wright

NC Tar Heel Law
July 4, 2008 2:48 p.m.

The State Controller's Office spokesman who made the comment that there was no technical problem with BEACON should be publicly reprimanded and forced to retract his comments. I supervise three employees; they have all had BEACON post incorect leave balances, and one has had his salary inappropriately docked because of a system error. The BEACON personnel responsible for addressing problems are apparently completely overwhelmed by the backlog. The old system may have been creaky, but at least it worked on a basic level. BEACON is the shiny new car sitting in the driveway with the puddle of transmission fluid underneath it.

zanerx
July 3, 2008 9:01 p.m.

They started NCDOT under BEACON first, and there were problems from the start, and they didn't iron them out before bringing other parts of the NC government on board. Like one NCDOT employee said "I love helping the people of NC, even though they hate us". We used to be able to count on our check every two weeks, but when BEACON came along, it was like russian roulette. Random people would have their pay or leave messed up. You would have bills due, and no money because the payroll was messed up. Morale was not good to start with, with people feeling that you get promoted on politics and having to beg for a payraise to try to catch up with inflation, but now! And how is this suppose to be more secure? You can change ones deposits online, and everyone knows nothing online is 100% secure. And not to mention that BEACON put skill block pay raises on hold for almost a year.

killerkestrel
July 3, 2008 5:08 p.m.

I am a Time Administrator in a State facility and I agree 100% with Casey04....it's NOT a joke. I have never experienced the level of abuse from my fellow coworkers as I have since the implementation of Beacon. I am the one who is yelled at, hung up on, receives the ugly emails and I have employees in my work area multiple times a day crying and yelling at me because no one at Beacon will help them. Training was definitely inadequate.

In my opinion, a pilot program should have been implemented in a 24-hour facility to fix any problems discovered where there are multiple and flex work schedules, temporary employees, various pay rates, incentive pay, overtime, etc.

Instead of blaming the Time Administrators for the pay problems think of the evenings, weekends, and holidays that were spent at work since Beacon implementation trying to enter time before the deadlines in hopes that YOU would be paid correctly.