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.
Subscription rate: $179 per year
Customer Service
Tel: (416) 609-3800 (Toronto)
(800) 387-5164 (outside Toronto)
Fax: (416) 298-5106
E-mail: customersupport.legaltaxcanada
@tr.com
Website: www.carswell.com
One Corporate Plaza
2075 Kennedy Road
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M1T 3V4
Director, Media Solutions, Canada
Karen Lorimer
Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Todd Humber
Editor Sheila Brawn
sbrawn@rogers.com
Editor/Supervisor Sarah Dobson
News Editor Marcel Vander Wier
Sales Manager Paul Burton
paul.burton@thomsonreuters.com
(416) 649-9928
Marketing Manager Robert Symes
rob.symes@thomsonreuters.com
(416) 649-9551
Circulation Co-ordinator Keith Fulford
keith.fulford@thomsonreuters.com
(416) 649-9585
Payroll Reporter
Can
R
Can
R
adian adian a
www.payroll-reporter.com
©2017 Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd
ISBN/ISSN: 978-0-7798-2810-4
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written
permission of the publisher (Thomson Reuters, Media Solutions, Canada).
Return Mail Registration # 1522825 | Return Postage Guaranteed
Paid News Revenue Toronto
Canadian Payroll Reporter is part of the Canadian
HR Reporter group of publications:
• Canadian HR Reporter — www.hrreporter.com
• Canadian Occupational Safety magazine — www.cos-mag.com
• Canadian Payroll Reporter — www.payroll-reporter.com
• Canadian Employment Law Today — www.employmentlawtoday.com
• Canadian Labour Reporter — www.labour-reporter.com
See carswell.com for information
Credit:
Blair
Gable/Reuters