Nearly 100 City of Atlanta employees cashed recent paychecks only to discover the checks bounced.
City leaders say a computer glitch — not human error — is to blame for the problem. Atlanta uses a fraud detection software to match up employee information with banking data. But for reasons that are unclear, the data the city sends to the bank wasn’t formatted correctly. As a result, 96 workers received bad checks.
Melissa Mullinax, spokeswoman for Mayor Kasim Reed, said some employees learned of the problem when attempting to cash their paychecks, while others deposited the money only to see the balance disappear a day later. Six employees called to complain.
So far, it’s unclear what damages employees may have suffered as a result. Mullinax said some banks may agree to waive any fees. If not, the city will reimburse the charges to employees. Replacement checks have been issued for those affected.
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