The U.S. Department of Labor is investigating Dallas County’s months-long failure to pay workers, including attorneys, contractors, sheriff’s deputies, and other county employees.
A spokesperson confirmed the investigation in a statement to The Dallas Express.
“We can confirm the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has an open and ongoing investigation into Dallas County,” said Deputy Regional Director Juan Rodriguez.
He added that the department “cannot disclose any additional information while the investigation is open and ongoing.”
Rodriguez told The Dallas Morning News that federal investigators must complete their investigation within six months.
“Once the investigation is complete, and if violations of OSHA standards are found, OSHA may issue citations that may have monetary penalties,” he said, per the DMN.
For months, Dallas County has been plagued with payroll problems, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
An update to the county’s financial management system in April apparently caused the pay request processing system to crash, resulting in ongoing payroll problems and hundreds of employees and contractors not receiving their paychecks on time.
Various employees and contractors ranging from election poll workers to attorneys have claimed the county has failed to pay them. Some workers who were paid received either late payments or deficient amounts.
Dallas County Sheriff’s Association President Sergeant Christopher Dyer claimed sheriff’s deputies and correctional officers are not being paid for mandatory overtime.
“They are forcing them to work overtime then not paying them,” he told the DMN. “They aren’t getting paid from four paychecks ago, and they aren’t getting any answers.”
Dyer asserted the county should be more attentive to employee complaints, claiming the payroll department keeps its office door locked and does not respond to calls and emails from workers.
“I’m running out of ideas to get this fixed,” Dyer said. “I think they just don’t know how to fix it.”
Dyer added that he has heard complaints from sheriff department employees every pay period since the beginning of May, and some early voting poll workers from the May 6 general election still have not been paid.
Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association President Douglas Huff said attorneys have recently begun to receive payments from the county but added the new system is “clunky and harder to track.”
Nevertheless, Dallas County Auditor Darryl Thomas has previously claimed, “The system is working,” per Fox 4 KDFW.
“There will be a few bugs, but we have been running checks,” he said. “Not a major issue.”
The Dallas Express contacted Dallas County for comment but received no response by press time.