BREWER, Maine — Thousands of Maine workers, including about 1,800 employees of Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems affiliates, were affected last week by a computer problem that delayed the automatic deposit of their paychecks into their bank accounts.
The problem originated with TD Banknorth, which has headquarters in Portland and Cherry Hill, N.J., and which processes payroll deposits for an undisclosed number of Maine employers.
About 700 employees of Affiliated Health Systems in Bangor, 400 employees of The Acadia Hospital in Bangor, and 700 employees of Inland Hospital in Waterville did not get their paychecks direct-deposited into their accounts last Thursday as they should have, according to EMHS Vice President of Finance Scott Oxley.
The delayed deposits totaled about $1.9 million.
“We started getting e-mails and voicemails [from employees] saying, ‘I checked my account and the money’s not there — what happened?’” Oxley said Wednesday. Even though the problem was rectified by Friday, he said, the delay caused problems for many workers.
“There are a lot of people who live paycheck to paycheck,” he said, and the corporation’s biweekly pay period can make it harder to absorb an unexpected delay. Oxley said EMHS loaned a total of about $5,000 in cash to workers who were very hard-hit by the glitch.
A TD Banknorth spokeswoman, Jennifer Carlson, said Wednesday that the problem was caused by “a technical issue” associated with a contracted service vendor.
“As soon as we learned of the problem, we tried to contact all our customers,” she said. “We apologize for any inconvenience and will work with individuals to help resolve any outstanding issues.” For example, TD Banknorth may be able to reverse any fees and charges associated with bounced checks or delayed payments, she said.
Carlson would not disclose how many employers use TD Banknorth for payroll services or how many individuals were affected by last week’s problem.
