Seattle police say they are being shorted in paycheck

Some Seattle police officers have received paychecks with half their pay missing. Others received checks missing overtime pay they’ve worked or they were paid the wrong overtime rates and may have to pay money back to the city.

Those payroll issues are just a few described to MyNorthwest first reported by KTTH’s Jason Rantz. Seattle police officers who shared details on the condition of anonymity. At least one of those officers described the issue as “a major pain” and added that it has resulted in low morale among the ranks and file in a department already dealing with limited resources and an officer shortage.

The officers say the issue started two years ago when the city leaders switched to the software payroll system, Workday. The officers claim the city negotiated with Workday without fully understanding the police department’s payroll nuances, including how to record 10-hour shifts and part-time and overtime pay correctly. And, they say, when SPD leadership brought those concerns to city leaders, the city moved ahead with the new payroll system anyway.

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One officer told MyNothwest that vacation and sick time accruals are also inaccurate. Also, according to the officers, money from SPD’s deferred compensation plans, which allow officers to set aside money to be paid at a later day, is correctly being taken from paychecks but, in some cases, is not being deposited into individual accounts. The result is that officers potentially default on loans from creditors.

The officers who alerted us about the issues say the Seattle Police Officers Guild is looking into hiring accountants to help officers who are impacted. The guild did not respond at the time of publishing.

We also reached out to SPD for official comment. A spokesperson deferred us to city leaders, including Mayor Bruce Harrell. The mayor and other city leaders did not respond at the time of publication.

Luke Duecy is a reporter, editor and anchor at KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of Luke’s stories here.
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