A payroll error briefly turned a Wayne County employee into a millionaire, setting off a major scandal that led to multiple firings and exposed serious flaws in Michigan’s payroll system. The employee, who has worked for the county for over 20 years, suddenly received a $1.6 million deposit in May. Although she had quickly reported the mistake, the fallout had been swift and severe.
An issue occurred when a supervisor changed the employee’s wage information after an increase. The supervisor mistakenly entered the employee’s ID number instead of the updated hourly rate, resulting in the seven-figure payout. WXYZ Channel 7 reported that the error slipped through multiple checks built into the system.
“No excuses for it, that kind of thing can’t happen. But it almost did,” said County Executive Warren Evans. Despite the employee’s honesty in returning the money, two employees were fired, and another was suspended over the incident.
Payroll Error Causes Problem
Wayne County’s new payroll system is being closely examined as a result of this concerning payroll issue. The county has recently adopted Oracle’s software last year, but the staff believe they did not receive adequate training. Many claim that they are still having trouble with the new system, which raises the possibility of serious mistakes.
“If it were $100 or $200, no one might notice. But a million dollars? That stands out,” noted County Commission Chairwoman Alisha Bell. In fact, this is not the first payroll issue the county has faced since implementing the system. Last August, hundreds of sheriff’s staff were underpaid, some missing nearly their full wages.
Officials have now called for a full review of past payments to uncover any smaller mistakes that may have gone unnoticed. The county faces mounting pressure to overhaul staff training and strengthen payroll safeguards to prevent future blunders that could cost taxpayers dearly.