OSPS E-News ~ Workday Payroll Update

[LOWRY Timothy * DAS]

Greetings Payroll Partners,

Please see the email below that was sent out to all agency heads, deputies, HR Directors on December 23rd.  We apologize for the delay in distribution to the OSPS News listserv.

________________________________

Greetings,

In follow up to our email earlier this week on the temporary pause of Workday Payroll system errors overpayment recoupments, we wanted to provide you with more context and a message to share with the LIMITED number of employees whose recoupments are paused.  This pause is a result of the State of Oregon reaching a tentative settlement agreement on the Workday Payroll class action lawsuit on Friday, December 13, 2024.

The CHRO and Workday teams will be working with our labor partners and the Legislative and Judicial branches to address system configuration improvements to ensure our employees are paid accurately.  During this time, we will continue to keep you informed on the settlement status and provide further details as they develop.  The main areas to be addressed in the structural changes to the system are transitioning to biweekly pay, paying overtime eligible employees to hourly, and paying on actual hours worked versus forecasting.

The settlement specifics and contingencies are as follows:


  *   DAS to pay $15 million to settle all Workday related wage claims employed any time after December 1, 2022.  No monies will be paid unless the following contingencies are complete.
  *   Court approval of the settlement (class action lawsuit settlements must be approved by the court)
  *   Legislative funding approval
  *   Labor agreements to structural changes and outstanding Workday-related grievances

As we move through the settlement contingencies, here are the key dates the parties are managing:


  *   January 31, 2025 - Deadline to finalize formal written settlement agreement
  *   February 28, 2025 - Deadline for parties to file joint motion for preliminary court approval of settlement
  *   July 1, 2025 - Deadline for DAS to notify plaintiffs whether adequate legislative approval for settlement funding has been obtained
  *   August 1, 2025 - Deadline for DAS to notify plaintiffs whether adequate agreement has been reached with unions about existing grievances and broader payroll changes
  *   September 5, 2025 - Deadline for parties to file joint motion for final court approval of settlement

As agencies are processing this month's payroll and reviewing the recoupment agreements with employees, please use the following language in blue below to notify IMPACTED employees of this temporary pause:

The State of Oregon reached a tentative settlement of the Workday Payroll class action arising out of the Workday Payroll implementation in 2023.  As part of this tentative settlement, there are contingencies the parties are working through.  During this time, the State agreed to temporarily pause the recoupment of overpayments due to Workday Payroll system errors.  Please note any recoupment related to a non-system error such as a time entry errors or forecasting (payroll adjustment made to correct a discrepancy between actual hours of paid time versus hours projected such as leave without pay), continue to be collected pursuant to the applicable rule, policy or collective bargaining agreement.  Any monies paid toward any type of overpayment will not be refunded to the employee as part of this pause.

We are working on a list to help agencies determine what is a system error versus non-system.  As questions arise, please continue to direct those questions to DAS CHRO Litigation Manager, Susan Hoeye at susan.e.hoeye at das.oregon.gov<mailto:susan.e.hoeye at das.oregon.gov>.

Thank you

Jessica N. Knieling
Chief Human Resources Officer
Department of Administrative Services
Cell:  971.900.9375


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