Municipal employees who currently use time sheets to clock in and out of work will soon be required to use hand scanners to track their hours instead, a move that will save time for the supervisors who sign off on the time sheets.
The new technology could be in place by the spring.
At Tuesday’s Town Council meeting it was announced that Secaucus will switch from using ADP to Paychex, two of the leading payroll service companies in the country. Town Administrator David Drumeler said the town will get more services for its money – specifically human resource management services and hand scanner technology – by making the switch.
“If this is used for employees who already punch in and out, I really don’t mind.” – Charles Schumacher
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The move will affect some 300 municipal employees.
Union head: ‘No problem’
The introduction of hand scan technology to track employee attendance has been controversial elsewhere – notably in New York City – but at least one union leader in Secaucus said he did not expect problems locally.
“I certainly don’t have a problem with it,” said Charles Schumacher, president of the Secaucus Public Employees’ Association, a local municipal workers’ union. “If this is used for employees who already punch in and out, I really don’t mind.”
Secaucus Public Employees’ Association has about 47 members, all of whom sign in and out each day using time sheets.
Schumacher added that he would have a problem if the scanners were used to track employees who do not currently clock in and out, since this is a detail that has already been decided in current labor agreements.
Most rank and file workers in the Department of Public Works (DPW), Town Hall, the Department of Social Services, medical escort, and part-timers in the Department of Recreation would be affected.
Intrusive?
Municipal unions in New York City have vehemently protested the city’s plans to implement hand scanner tracking systems. According to the New York Times, the city has spent $410 million to install this technology that is used daily by 160,000 municipal employees. Many workers there have complained the scanners are intrusive while others say they simply feel uncomfortable using them.
In Hoboken, City Hall instituted hand scanners last year.
Although they are highly accurate, there can still be some errors and glitches with biometric technology. There are also benefits. Workers, especially hourly employees and those who get paid for overtime, can typically be paid faster than under current systems since paper timesheets no longer need to pass through a supervisor for a signature.
The technology also streamlines payroll and is environmentally friendly since it reduces overreliance on paper timesheets.
E-mail E. Assata Wright at awright@hudsonreporter.com.