April 8, 2009

State of Delaware to Implement New Online Payroll System

Access to ePay will begin on April 24 for all state employees

DOVER – Governor Markell today announced his plans for the implementation of the State of Delaware’s new online payroll information system, ePay. Beginning on Friday, April 24, state employees will be able to view their live paycheck and pay advice data online through ePay, which will eliminate the need for printed pay advices and sharply decrease the associated printing, delivering and sorting costs.

“Over the past three months, we received many suggestions from Delawareans about how we could reduce costs in state government, and eliminating paper pay advices was one of the most popular suggestions,” said Governor Jack Markell. “With ePay, we are not only saving employee time and taxpayer money, but we are freeing up those resources to be used more efficiently and effectively in a time when we need them the most.”

Using the same online system used to access eBenefits, employees will log onto their password-protected records to examine their earnings, deductions and taxes for the current pay period and the year-to-date. Employees will be able to access the electronic payroll advices each pay period from their office or home, and access to payroll information will be available on the Wednesday before each Friday payday. This system will allow employees to have more convenient access to their payroll information, which will be similar to what appears on the paycheck stub or pay advice received today.

“ePay will provide our state employees with access to their payroll information 24-hours a day, seven days a week,” said Director Ann Visalli, Office of Management and Budget (OMB). “By adopting this innovative system, we will embrace a technology considered to be a best practice in the human resource field because we are protecting identities, reducing costs and streamlining our payroll process.”

Online advice availability will also reduce the cost of postage for departments that currently mail the payroll advice forms and the cost of transportation for those who pick up and deliver pay advices to state office locations.

For state employees who do not have computer access, OMB’s Payroll Human Resource Statewide Technology (PHRST) Office will work with the Department of Technology and Information’s (DTI) Office of Change Management and other state agencies to ensure these employees are fully prepared for the transition. Additionally, employees who receive live payroll checks will continue to receive their live paychecks but will still be able to view their payroll information online.

This is the state’s first step in a plan to phase out the distribution of the traditional paper pay advices, eventually eliminating the need to mail advices to employees’ homes or departments. The printing of traditional paper pay advices will be phased out within the first quarter of fiscal year 2010.