An update to Fred Meyer’s payroll software has left some employees’ paychecks short of what they’re owed, some for several weeks.
Jeffery Temple, a spokesperson for Fred Meyer, said the parent company, Kroger Co., recently launched a new human resources platform that has caused the problems.
“Through the conversion we have experienced a technical error in paycheck distribution,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Although a small percentage of our associates have been affected, we understand the impact. We are working quickly on resolving known issues.”
Temple said about 1% of the roughly 40,000 Fred Meyer employees across Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska have been affected. It’s unclear why around 400 employees were affected while others were not.
Geoff Stewart, secretary of Teamsters Local 206 in Portland, said about 50 union employees at the Fred Meyer distribution center in Clackamas have been affected.
“We first got reports about it in the last week of September, and it’s been ongoing,” Stewart said. “And now we’re in a situation where people are still owed a lot of money.”
He said while some employees who were being shortchanged have since received their normal paychecks, they have not received back wages they’re owed.
“Some of them are owed just a couple of days, and some are owed up to three to four weeks of pay,” he said. “It’s a huge mess.”
“You gotta ask, why would one of the largest employers in the country flip a switch and go to a brand new payroll system without having a trial period in select markets?” Stewart said.
Kroger recently announced plans to acquire Albertsons, which also owns Safeway, for $24.6 billion. The deal would combine the nation’s two largest grocery chains.
–Kristine de Leon, kdeleon@oregonian.com, 503-221-8506
