Dear SEIU 1021 City of Oakland member:

We have continued to meet with the City about their data breach and payroll plans. We have reported to them that our members have had their information compromised, and demanded to review any communications they will be issuing.

As we reported to you last week, the City’s plan is to pay out this pay period the same thing they paid out the previous pay period. This will result in some workers being overpaid, and in some workers being underpaid.

The City intends to correct any underpayments on the following pay period (starting Monday, Feb. 27). They also proposed collecting all overpayments back from workers on that pay period, but our contract language has the following provisions that we intend to hold the City to, allowing a slower, more manageable repayment timeline:

In the event the City erroneously overpays a unit member regardless of fault, the City shall recover overpayment as described in Section 5.3.1.1

5.3.1.1 The City will provide written notice to each employee when he/she receives a wage overpayment. The notice will advise the employee of the amount of the overpayment and request that the employee either reimburse the City for the full amount of the overpayment or consent to deduct the overpayment from the employee’s paychecks, five percent (5.0%) of the employee’s gross salary per pay period, for as many consecutive pay periods as is necessary until the overpayment is recouped in its entirety. The notice shall also advise employees of the right not to consent, provided however, the City may pursue appropriate legal action.

You do not need to sign anything the City gives you on this issue. If you have any questions, please contact your union rep or SPOC. You can also call the SEIU 1021 Member Resource Center (MRC) to speak one-on-one with a member of the SEIU 1021 staff. The MRC is available to Local 1021 members from Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 1-877-687-1021.