SAP Payroll System information

See links to PDFs below for more information

By Secretary-Treasurer Dave Dobler
June 26, 2009

President Scott Westerman and Secretary-Treasurer Dave Dobler have sat in on several meetings relating to the implementation of the SAP program and the transition to our “Go Live” which has already occurred as of late June, 2009. The total project cost is estimated to be $48.15 million dollars with peak project staffing of 135 employees (85 of those being City staff). A lot good people have worked long hours on this project, but a number sources both inside and outside the Bureau state the EBS / SAP system was never designed for police and fire purposes.

The Mayor requested an informal meeting with various members of labor organizations on June 26 to discuss the implementation of the SAP System. We appreciated the opportunity to express our concerns. Unfortunately the Mayor was on vacation and did not attend the meeting. At this meeting it didn’t take long to realize the impact the SAP payroll system is already having on labor and management. We also found out that at this time there are over 500 PPB overtime slips that have not been processed in either the old or new SAP system.

Earlier on June 26, before this meeting, the PPA served the Chief’s Office with four grievances regarding the SAP system and how the Bureau of Human Resources has interpreted our contract.

In the June 26 meeting several union representatives mentioned that it appeared the City unilaterally adopted BHR’s interpretation of labor contracts. The City then used that interpretation in the SAP system without regard to due process or consideration of current contracts and past practices. We all hope for the best, but clearly there is the potential for a large number of legal actions (grievances) filed against the City for their mishandling of this process.

Our concerns are focused mostly on BHR and the repeated excuse regarding a variety of issues is, “SAP won’t allow that.” Someone finally admitted at the June 26 meeting that, “if we had enough money” the SAP program was robust and could do just about anything. It seems contract language and past practices were (to some degree) thrown to the wind in the face of SAP project costs. The PPA pointed out that the employees are the internal customers and should be treated as such. The PPA also brought up promises made to have timekeepers and other help available after hours for several days after the first paycheck to deal with potential problems and issues. This will not be the case. Employees must catch payment issues on Thursday July 2, 2009 between 1000 and 1800 hours or wait until Monday July 6, 2009 at 0600 hours.

If the SAP payroll system were going to be a vast improvement on our current system we would not be as concerned. However, many people close to the project agree that this new system may never be as good as our current payroll system for police, fire and others. Everyone is hoping for the best. Maybe there will be few problems. Hopefully this will not end up being a Gordian knot of Water Bureau proportions.

Below are a number of helpful pieces of information and links that should answer many of your questions. PPB Money Matters has quite a few helpful ideas. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

  • Keep copies of your payroll statements and information to compare with the new paycheck statements you will receive with the July 2 checks.
  • You will not be allowed to split your overtime between pay and compensation for a single overtime shift - you must select payor all comp time. Also, you cannot submit two overtime slips for one assignment.
    NOTE: The PPA filed a grievance on this issue on 06/26/2009
  • Varying overtime rates
    Overtime rates of pay may vary for each week of a pay period. If you are covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and are eligible for overtime pay, you may see different overtime rates during the same pay period. FLSA requirements state that OT rates of pay be calculated on a work week basis. This means that when an employee receives different base and premium rates from one week to another, the OT rates for the two weeks will be different.
  • Assigned Schedules
    In SAP, employees are assigned a work schedule that is used by the system to determine a number of pay rules including overtime pay rates, differences in holiday pay, or to indicate full-time or part-time employment. Work schedules are defined in the SAP system based on HR administrative rules and policies, as well as bargaining unit contracts. An SAP work schedule is a representation of an employee's planned work hours and may vary from the exact schedule agreed upon by the employee and their supervisor. There are approximately 150 predetermined Police work schedules loaded into the SAP system. These schedules represent most of the work schedules of Bureau employees.
  • Graveyard Shifts
    There will be some impacts on the graveyard shift as the new SAP system comes on line. A significant difference between SAP and IBIS is what date a night shift is considered to be worked. SAP considers the date the shift starts as the date worked. In IBIS the date the shift ended was considered the date worked. Employees are encouraged to keep their paycheck statements from June 18 to compare to their first paycheck on July 2.
    NOTE: The PPA filed a grievance on this issue on 06/26/2009
  • Trouble ticket
    This new form will be posted to the Intranet by July 2 and can be filled out by employees and either faxed to Fiscal Services at 823-0975 or sent by interdepartmental mail.
  • Voice Mail
    Voice mail box will include a custom message with instructions on what to report at 823-1187.
  • Email
    Email to paychecks@portlandpolice.org is in place for employees to email their problem. A bounce back message will be sent to the employee advising them of when to expect a response.
  • Fiscal Services timekeepers WILL NOT be able to answer their desk phones July 2-6. They will focus on responding to inquires received by email, fax, and voice mail. Employees should be reminded to use the systems in place for answering their questions.
  • There is a new section posted to the Intranet titled "Paychecks." This section answers many of the questions employees may have when they receive their July 2 paycheck with steps to report a paycheck problem or ask questions.
  • You will be assigned a new employee ID in SAP (which is a separate number from your DPSST number). These individual employee lDs are a series of six random numbers and are listed on your payroll statement at the top right as Personnel No. 123456. Social Security numbers will only be used for those business processes that require them. Personnel and Fiscal will maintain the list of employee ID numbers.
  • Shift adjustments are allowed for full shifts and must be within the 28-day FLSA cycle. FLSA cycles always begin on a Thursday at the beginning of the payroll period and end on a Wednesday 28 days later. Adjustments are not allowed across these FLSA cycle dates. FLSA cycles for the remaining 2009 calendar year are:
    • 6/11 - 7/8/09
    • 7/ 9 - 8/5/09
    • 8/ 6 - 9/2/09
    • 9/ 3 - 10/ 28/09
    • 10/29 - 11 / 25/09
    • 11 /26 - 1 2/23/09
    • 12/24 - 1/ 20/ 10
  • UDARSAll UDARS need to be approved no later than the morning of the next business day (i.e., next day for 24/7 operations if approvers are available).
  • Employees are able to check their own leave balances online by going to www.portlandonline.com Once you're there, click along the following link path:

    1. Employees
    2. Employees Portal
    3. Services and Resources
    4. Employment Information (log in here)
    5. Employee Address Change Form