Payroll Update - December 19, 2022

From: finance-information@gaston.k12.nc.us

Subject: Information for Employees, December 19, 2022

Date: Dec 19 , 2022, 4:31 PM

Information for Employees, December 19, 2022

Information for Employees, December 19, 2022

Good afternoon, employees.  We know that everyone is ready for our much-anticipated holiday break. Wednesday is our last day of school for the first semester, and during the break, we hope everyone is able to rest and enjoy time with family and friends.  

Below, we are providing you with an update from the finance, payroll, and human resources departments. Please take a moment to read this information carefully.

Bi-weekly and monthly payrolls

For the remainder of December, we have one bi-weekly pay date on Friday, December 30.  The monthly pay date is Wednesday, December 21.

COVID-19 retention bonuses

In September, the Board of Education approved a $1,000 COVID-19 retention bonus (for the first semester) for qualified employees.  The bonus is subject to N.C. Department of Public Instruction approval, which was received earlier this month.  The bonus will be paid by the end of January 2023 to permanent employees who regularly work more than 50 percent of the time and were continuously employed by Gaston County Schools from August 9, 2022 through December 21, 2022.

The Board also approved a $1,000 COVID-19 retention bonus (for the second semester) for qualified employees who are continuously employed from January 5, 2023 through May 26, 2023.  Additionally, the Board approved a $1,000 COVID-19 retention bonus (for the full school year) for qualified employees who continuously work from August 9, 2022 through May 26, 2023.  Both the second semester and the full school year bonuses will be paid by the end of June 2023.  

Form W-2 distribution

As a reminder, ADP, a company that manages direct deposits, pay information, and tax information for our employees, will prepare and distribute all employee W-2s for 2022.  ADP will send the pay file to the IRS and will mail a W-2 form to employees by January 31, 2023.  Your W-2 form will be mailed to the employee address on file in Oracle.  Employee W-2 forms also will be available online.

Payroll Update

Our payroll personnel continue to review, research, and resolve issues that were brought to our attention as a result of employees meeting with the customer service team.  We continue to make progress on addressing the issues, but it is a time-consuming effort.  Some of the current global issues (issues that affect a group of employees) are outlined in the bulleted list below.

• Retirement accounts

We are pleased to share with you that the N.C. retirement system (ORBIT) accepted our June file last week without errors.  The July file was submitted to the N.C. retirement system (ORBIT) today, and the August file is ready to submit after the July file is accepted.  

Additionally, employee 403(b), 457, and 401(k) tax-deferred withholdings through November were deposited with Admin Partners last week.  Admin Partners will distribute these funds to the respective financial vendors (such as Horace Mann) for posting to individual employee accounts.  Empower (formerly Prudential) withholding files have also been updated through November.  

• Excess deductions

We’ve had an internal team assisting payroll staff over the past several months with the review and resolution of issues related to excess deductions.  Once an employee’s issue is reviewed and a resolution is determined, the employee should see an adjustment in the next regular payroll run.  This is an on-going process.

• Overpayments

Some employees were overpaid as a result of the payroll conversion.  We are in the process of contacting the affected employees to develop a plan to recover the funds.

We would like to thank you for all that you have done to give us a strong finish to the first semester of school.  Please know that we appreciate your efforts to support our students and families, and we hope that all employees have a safe and enjoyable holiday break.

Gary Hoskins, Chief Financial Officer