The state is facing a payroll issue.
In The Alaska Beacon, almost 50% of state payroll processing jobs are not filled which causes some state employees their paychecks to be delayed or below what they should’ve received.
The issues were pointed out in a letter sent this month from Governor. Mike Dunleavy’s chief of staff Tyson Gallagher, to the department heads of the state, where Gallagher accused “excessively high levels of vacancies” within Payroll Division. Payroll Division.
Alaska Beacon reporter James Brooks states that there are only a few people working on payroll that state departments have required a halt on the signing of letters of agreement which could include bonuses for newly hired employees. In actual fact, Brooks says, there are so many issues mounting up that Payroll Division Payroll Division can’t even keep the track of how many reports of issues they’ve had.
Listen:
The transcript that follows has been edited lightly for clarity.
James Brooks: In certain cases it could be $50, 60, or even $100 (missing from a check). However, there are instances where employees are unable to pay several hundred dollars or and even thousands, and there are other instances that employees were unable to pay for weeks on end. receiving a paycheck. This, in turn contributes to the increase in high turnover in other parts of the state. The state has already had a difficult time to find and keep employees. It appears that this is aggravating the issue not only in the payroll department however, across all state departments.
Casey Grove“Wow, I didn’t think of this. The possibility of having problems with the payroll department regarding staffing causes issues elsewhere, with employees looking to quit due to not being paid in time, or at a sufficient rate or whatever.
James Brooks: Absolutely. I spoke to Jordan Adams, who is the manager of business for Local 71 which is located here in Alaska. And he told me that in a few instances the state has employed new workers in transportation who did not receive pay for a period of 6 weeks. He told me that’s completely unacceptable and the state is currently struggling to find and hire new employees. If they don’t get payed, they simply quit and walk away and the state then has to recruit again.
Casey Grove: Why is this happening? It’s a good question. Is it similar to other issues that employers face when hiring new employees? Is there something else taking place?
James Brooks: There are a myriad of possible motives. The one that came out in my report was the fact that state may pay wages that aren’t competitive for the work it’s asking employees to perform. In my research, I learned there was evidence that states are in the process of preparing to employ a contractor to assist with payroll. The state will be paying the contractor more than twice what it would pay an employee employed by the state. This money won’t be going to the newly hired contract worker. The contracting company will keep some of the money and it’s a significant indicator that people could make more money in private sector and other government agencies than they do in Alaska. The State is experiencing a difficult finding employees.
Casey Grove: Then, naturally, the case of state payroll workers are under the control of a specific union. The union isn’t pleased with the situation, isn’t it? What did they say?
James Brooks: The union’s director of business, Jeff Kasper, was quite honest. In a conversation to me about the issue, he mentioned that this was a fault of management. Managers and executives from the state haven’t done enough to raise pay and benefits in order to remain in the race. The union, as well as many the other trade unions are pushing to reinstate the state pension plan. This has been one of the biggest benefits the state has provided. However, since the beginning of 2000 the state hasn’t offered pensions. When long-serving employees retire the state is replacing the retiring employees with those who do not have pensions. This means there’s less incentive for the new employees to remain in the state.
Casey Grove: The plan now, for the near term as you mentioned is to sell the services. The union, however, doesn’t see this as something that’s only temporary, is it?
James Brooks: Right. Kasper in the course of talking to me, stated that the idea is part of a strategic long-term strategy to outsource for a long time. While evidence to support this isn’t available but it’s been an issue for quite a while. The state, as a part of the agreements not requiring to have Alaska state employees be employed inside the state. The public unions of employees have been more concerned over the last couple of years over the possibility remote work could permit the state to employ a an abundance of employees who do not actually work in Alaska. Additionally, the Department of Administration, which is responsible for payroll management, has stated that this is just temporary solution. They are planning to fill these positions within the state. They’re increasing their hiring in hiring, and they’re offering incentives. If you log on to Workplace Alaska right now, the job listings state that you could receive a bonuses of up to $3,000 for jobs as a payroll worker.
Casey Grove: But they’re unable to take advantage of the bonus.
James Brooks: I think they’ll be able to get it completed. In addition, the department is recruiting former payroll workers who worked for the department of payroll but are now working in other government jobs. They’re requesting them temporarily perform payroll tasks rather than what they usually do.
