[US] Payroll info of 450 city employees leaked in clerical error

In the US, a clerical error by the City of Salem led to an ex-employee receiving payroll information for 450 current and former employees, Salem Statesman Journal reports.

According to city officials, the incident occurred on January 21 and involved payroll information from March 2024 for 450 people, including 400 active city employees.

The affected employees were reportedly notified a month later on February 21 following an investigation.

In a letter to those employees, Salem payroll supervisor Rhonda Miller disclosed that 450 pay statements had been inadvertently included in a file sent to a former employee.

"Although we attempted to recall the email immediately, we could not retrieve it because it was sent to an external address," Ms Miller said in the letter. "The former employee has confirmed they deleted the file; however, as a precaution, we wanted to make you aware of the incident."

Ms Miller added that the pay statement contained people's home addresses, pay period earnings, deductions and bank names. However, it did not include Social Security numbers, bank account numbers or sensitive personal information.

Courtney Knox Busch - Salem's strategic initiatives manager - reportedly stated that no laws were violated because no personal or identifiable information was released.

The City reportedly chose to provide notice to the potentially affected employees and forwarded the notice to the Oregon Attorney General's Office.

"The incident occurred as the result of a clerical error," Ms Knox Busch said. "Since that time, the City has retrained employees, implemented procedural steps that require batched information to be manually uploaded when attaching to an email, and is currently working on implementing an encryption process for sensitive information."

Source: Salem Statesman Journal

(Quotes via original reporting)

In the US, a clerical error by the City of Salem led to an ex-employee receiving payroll information for 450 current and former employees, Salem Statesman Journal reports.

According to city officials, the incident occurred on January 21 and involved payroll information from March 2024 for 450 people, including 400 active city employees.

The affected employees were reportedly notified a month later on February 21 following an investigation.

In a letter to those employees, Salem payroll supervisor Rhonda Miller disclosed that 450 pay statements had been inadvertently included in a file sent to a former employee.

"Although we attempted to recall the email immediately, we could not retrieve it because it was sent to an external address," Ms Miller said in the letter. "The former employee has confirmed they deleted the file; however, as a precaution, we wanted to make you aware of the incident."

Ms Miller added that the pay statement contained people's home addresses, pay period earnings, deductions and bank names. However, it did not include Social Security numbers, bank account numbers or sensitive personal information.

Courtney Knox Busch - Salem's strategic initiatives manager - reportedly stated that no laws were violated because no personal or identifiable information was released.

The City reportedly chose to provide notice to the potentially affected employees and forwarded the notice to the Oregon Attorney General's Office.

"The incident occurred as the result of a clerical error," Ms Knox Busch said. "Since that time, the City has retrained employees, implemented procedural steps that require batched information to be manually uploaded when attaching to an email, and is currently working on implementing an encryption process for sensitive information."

Source: Salem Statesman Journal

(Quotes via original reporting)