After a payroll delay roiled Jersey City municipal workers for a good portion of the day, the city says that direct deposits will be received today.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“To all employees: We are aware of the issues regarding the direct deposit. We are working on rectifying the issue and will provide an update accordingly,” the city’s Department of Human Resources wrote in an email to all 4,000 or so municipal workers at 8:51 a.m.
At 2:51 p.m., employees received another email indicating “your accounts should be credited later today,” with the time varying on which bank they use, also thanking them for their patience.
Jersey City Police Officers Benevolent Association President Joe Cossolini said this isn’t the first time this has happened in recent memory and that he’s still awaiting a full explanation from the city.
“I am still waiting for a real explanation from the city. Mistakes happen but this has been going on for weeks. The city is quick to take credit when things are going well but even quicker to blame others when things go wrong,” he told HCV.
“I asked for an explanation from Director Moody’s Office on January 15, 2022. I still haven’t received a response. Even if the direct deposit goes through today, we still have a myriad of pay issues which they are refusing to address.”
He declined to go into further detail about the other outstanding pay issues, though sources familiar with the situation, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said that employees received hard checks on January 15th due to an issue with direct deposit.
City spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione used more definitive language than human resources did in an email, stating that every deposit will be paid before the end of the day.
“The bank has rectified the issue and advised the City that every direct deposit will be paid today. The city worked with the bank to ensure the issue was immediately rectified,” she said.
“HR communicated with all city employees via email before the start of the workday and additionally worked with union officials to keep employees apprised. The city is already in the process of switching payroll programs to one that better suits the needs of a large municipality like ours.”
