Jackson County reviews payroll errors after mass Workday upload; administration says employees have been made whole

Jackson County officials told the Finance and Audit Committee on a staff briefing that a mass data upload tied to Workday implementation and a delayed 2025 budget led to erroneous payments affecting elected legislators and dozens of other employees.

“The file did contain the legislators' names. It should not have contained them,” the county payroll administrator said, describing how a bulk upload included records that should have been excluded. Payroll said it notified administration and began steps to address each affected individual.

Why it happened: Chief Administrative Officer Sylvia Stevenson told the committee the county used an expedited mass-upload process to apply merit increases for roughly 500 associates after a six‑month delay in adoption of the 2025 budget. “There were some overpayments, and we sincerely apologize for that,” Stevenson said. She said many issues have been corrected and additional problems are being worked through by finance and HR.

Scope and remediation: Payroll staff said 28 additional associates were affected by incorrect continuous‑service or seniority dates generated by Workday, which in some cases produced retroactive pay calculations or overpayments. Payroll reported that retro pay amounts were calculated and sent to departments for review, and that retro payments were scheduled for the July 3 payroll cycle.

“Everyone has been made whole,” a finance official told the committee, describing the county’s approach to correcting identified errors and issuing retroactive pay where due. Caleb Clyfford, chief of staff in the county executive’s office, said he accepted responsibility for directing the expedited merit process and apologized for the consequences. “I take the responsibility for issuing the directive or the request that these merit increases be done as expeditiously as possible due to the delay in the county's budget process,” Clyfford said.

Unresolved questions and next steps: Committee members pressed for clarity about final sign‑off and who executed the uploads. Members asked that the HR Workday consultant be available remotely for a follow‑up session to explain the mechanics of the upload. Chair Sean Smith suggested the committee consider a closed session to review personnel records where individual cases would be discussed; counsel indicated a closed meeting may be appropriate for personnel-specific matters.

The county said it will circulate a fuller legal and procedural accounting to the committee and continue working with HR and payroll to resolve outstanding cases.