DC Deploys Enterprise Payroll System

The District of Columbia’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO), in collaboration with the DC Office of Pay and Retirement Services (OPRS) and the DC Department of Human Resources (DCHR), today announced the successful deployment of a new automated payroll system that simplifies, streamlines and improves payroll processes and records for 27,000 DC government employees in 81 agencies.

The new payroll system is linked to the District’s human resources (HR) system, creating a fully integrated online HR and pay process. For the first time, updates to HR records automatically flow through to the payroll system. The new system provides District employees a simpler, easier to understand pay stub and reduces the risk of identity theft by replacing Social Security numbers with employee ID numbers. For the first time, employees with multiple jobs will get one paycheck, rather than two, as well as consolidated tax withholding. The new system will facilitate grant compliance by permitting the District to track and allocate labor costs by grant. Overall, the system will dramatically increase accuracy in District pay processes and records, with an expected 90 percent reduction in payroll corrections and supplemental checks.

“This new integrated system will help the city save money, improve productivity and increase accountability,” said DC Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. “This is part of a government-wide effort to automate cumbersome paper-based processes to simplify government and create a greener DC.”

The new system has passed two major tests since rollout last fall. On October 15, 2007, it processed its first payroll run for 22,000 employees with only 94 problem tickets—an extraordinarily low rate for a system implementation of this size. On January 29, 2008, the new system produced W-2 information for nearly 27,000 employees in plenty of time for tax filing. This information was merged with the W-2 information from the DC Public Schools payroll system for a total of 39,000 W-2s issued by OPRS.

“The Payroll implementation is just one step in our ongoing efforts to modernize and automate core functions throughout the DC government,” said DC Chief Technology Officer Vivek Kundra. “This administration has declared a ‘War on Paper,’ and OCTO is on the front lines. We are leading a citywide transformation of government operations in order to serve District residents faster and more efficiently.”

Upcoming implementations will enhance the District’s integrated HR Payroll system to automate time entry and allow employees to view their pay records online. “With almost 20 pay periods, and W-2s, behind us--all with minimal problems--we can count our new Payroll system a success,” said Johnetta Bond, director of OPRS. “Our pay processes are more efficient, our records are more accurate, and our employees are better served.”