TULSA, Okla. — A ransomware attack on the Kronos payroll systems has created a big headache for Tulsa’s Ascension St. John and its employees.
It happened back in November.
Now Ascension St. John is telling some employees they were overpaid and have to pay it back.
Several Ascension St. John employees have reached out to us over the last few weeks expressing frustrations over how the medical group is handling the aftermath of the ransomware attack.
The problem covered a payroll period from November 28, 2021 to January 8, 2022.
The attack targeted a payroll system called Kronos.
During that time employees say they were paid estimated amounts.
None of employees who emailed us want to talk on camera for fear of losing their jobs.
Some employees say Ascension told them they would owe around $2,000, but some are disputing that.
We obtained emails from the past two weeks sent to employees explaining the problems.
On January 12th, employees were told to review and edit, if needed, their timecard for three pay periods during which the payroll software was inaccessible.
The email says the company would use the data to calculate the employees actual earnings and determine if an employee was under or overpaid.
Those underpaid received their wages last Friday (January 21st).
Those overpaid received a follow-up email on January 20th that said they would begin repaying the company on the January 28th paycheck at a rate of 50%.
According to an email the next day (January 21st), employees expressed concerns about the repayment process so Ascension St. John made some changes.
The company moved back the repayment date to start February 11th.
Employees can choose to repay in 10%, 25% or 50% increments each pay period until it’s paid off, or employees can use their accrued, unused paid time off hours to repay.
We reached out to ascension for comment. In a statement they confirmed the information that was included in the employee emails but made no other comments.
We’ll stay in touch with the employees who reached out to us with concerns to see if this gets resolved.
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