Thousands of city of Ottawa employees affected by payroll issue

Ottawa City Hall (CTV News Ottawa)

Thousands of city of Ottawa employees are experiencing payroll issues, with some workers significantly underpaid on their first pay cheques of 2023.

The issue included at least two hundred police officers, multiple sources told CTV News. The sources said some officers were significantly underpaid, receiving less than two dollars on their expected January paycheque, while others received too much money.

In a memo to council late Monday, the city's director of payroll Sharon McLaughlin said about 2,500 city employees had to have their pay manually adjusted.

"These actions prevented overpayment and underpayment situations from occurring and ensured that these employees received complete and accurate pay on January 12."

The remaining adjustments, about 7,700, are of $50 or less and will be reflected in the Jan. 26 pay period, she said. The issue was limited to employee deductions, she added.

She said she expects pay corrections will be complete after the issuance of pay on Jan. 26.

Ottawa Police Association President Matt Cox says they are working with the city to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Sources told CTV News the payment irregularities were caused by a technical issue and that the city does not expect it to be a recurring problem.

Ottawa police chief Eric Stubbs told reporters Monday he was unaware of the issue and did not comment further.

Earlier on Monday, McLaughlin said in a statement that the city has full confidence in its payroll system and has taken steps to rectify the issue.

"Through its regular quality assurance controls, the City became aware of a technical issue affecting the pay of City of Ottawa employees and members of the Ottawa Police Service. Immediate steps were taken to rectify it through normal operational procedures," McLaughlin said.

"Where necessary, impacted employees received adjusted payroll deposits during the same pay cycle and were directly advised of the adjustments to their pay."

"The City has full confidence in its payroll system and operational procedures."