A class action grievance about payroll processing delays “resulting in employees not being paid accurately or in a timely manner” was filed against the State of Alaska on Thursday by a union representing 8,000 state employees.<\/p>\n
The complaint by the Alaska State Employees Association<\/a> alleges widespread problems throughout various state departments due to a shortage of payroll employees, with some workers receiving only partial paychecks or none at all during the past year.<\/p>\n “Concerns expressed by state employees and state labor unions have not been addressed and payroll-related issues have developed into a widespread and unmanageable crisis,” a press release issued Thursday by ASEA states. “Impacted employees across the state are challenged to meet daily personal financial obligations including mortgage, rent payments, groceries, childcare, medical expenses and other basic needs.”<\/p>\n The union claims the Alaska Division of Payroll Services processes more than 14,000 timesheets every two weeks.<\/p>\n “This undertaking requires a team of seventy-five qualified individuals for payroll to run smoothly so paychecks can be delivered on time and in the correct amount,” the union’s press release asserts. “As of Sept. 10, only 37 people were employed at Payroll Services, making an already complicated job a nearly impossible task.”<\/p>\n ASEA Executive Director Heidi Drygas, in a prepared statement, declared the problem isn’t caused by the payroll staff themselves.<\/p>\n “(This) is a symptom of what happens when teams of employees are asked to do more with less, when employees are treated and paid poorly, and when state operating budgets are ratcheted down so tight that failure is all but assured,” she said. “The consequence of these policies will affect more than state employees, this spells a breakdown of state services to all Alaskans and a failure of leadership to provide basic and essential services to constituents.”<\/p>\n Ken Truitt, a spokesperson for the Department of Administration, declined to confirm the union’s payroll staffing claims in an interview Friday. He also declined to state how many employees have not received proper paychecks during the past year.<\/p>\n “We will disclose that information when it’s required in the process,” he said, referring to the grievance. “It’s not that we’re not interested in it. But we don’t want to compromise the process by something in the press getting quoted or misquoted.”<\/p>\n