Canadian Payroll Reporter

News July 2017 | CPR Feds invest more money in Phoenix system › OTTAWA — The federal government recently an- nounced spending of $142 million to help ad- dress lingering problems with its Phoenix payroll system. Steven MacKinnon, parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement, said the money will go toward hiring about 200 additional employees to process pay transactions and implement collective agreements, as well as to new technology to improve efficiency. He also announced that the government would keep open for the rest of the fiscal year temporary pay centre satellite offices to help speed up the length of time it takes to pay employees. Last year, the government opened offices in Gatineau, Que., Montreal, Shawinigan, Que., and Winnipeg, as well as a national call centre in Toronto to help staff at the pay centre in Miramichi, N.B. MacKinnon said the money for new technology would be used to implement a new case management tool that will allow compensation advisors to better track pay transactions and respond to employees' questions with current and accurate information. "No one should have to tolerate missing or incorrect pay," said MacKinnon. "We are putting public service pay on sustainable footing by investing in the people, technology and services needed to run a reliable, modern pay system for all public servants." The federal government has been struggling with its new payroll system since it began rolling it out last year. Thousands of workers have been overpaid, underpaid, or not paid at all. It has also had difficulty processing pay requests on time. Revoking of payroll card regulations appealed › NEW YORK — The New York State Department of Labor is appealing a ruling that revoked its new payroll card regulations, which were slated to come into effect in March. In a ruling in February, the state's Industrial Board of Appeals said the regulations were invalid because they exceeded the department's authority under the state's labour law by putting restrictions on fees charged by financial institutions. Global Cash Card, a payroll card provider, had petitioned the appeals board to overturn the regulations, arguing that they exceeded the department's authority to make, had vague and unreasonable provisions, and that they were pre-empted by federal banking laws. In filing an appeal with the state's Supreme Court, the Department of Labor took issue with the ruling, arguing that it does have the legislative authority to regulate payroll cards and that Global Cash Card should not have been allowed to bring the issue to the board since it was not coming before the board as an employer regulated by the state's labour laws. Payroll cards, like direct deposit, are a way for employers to pay employees. Employers load an employee's pay onto a card instead of depositing it in the employee's bank account or giving the employee a cheque. The employee can use the card like a debit card to make purchases or withdraw amounts using an ATM. While the cards offer a number of benefits, workers' rights advocates in the United States have complained that fees often associated with them hurt low-wage workers. Last year, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that in March 2017, the department would implement the "most comprehensive payroll card protections" in the United States. They would not only regulate how employers used payroll cards to pay employees, they would also prohibit employers and card providers from charging workers a number of different types of fees for the cards. When New York first announced the regulations, payroll card providers expressed concerns that the fee restrictions would drive card providers out of the New York market. — Compiled by Sheila Brawn from NEWS IN BRIEF on page 3 Published 12 times a year by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. 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