St. Charles Health System no longer seeks reimbursement after claiming some employees were overpaid

A central Oregon health system will no longer seek reimbursement from employees who may have been overpaid due to a payroll issue.

Earlier this month, St. Charles Health System said it overpaid at least 2,000 employees an average of $780, totaling $2 million in overpayments.

This happened after hackers attacked the company that runs the hospital’s payroll account.

Ultimate Kronos Group, the technology company that runs the St. Charles payroll system, has been the victim of a ransomware attack that has left many businesses across the United States that use the system reeling and unable to access payroll records.

From late November through January, the hospital paid employees based on the hours they reported during that time, a spokesperson said earlier this month.

When St. Charles determined that they had overpaid some employees, they first asked the employees to refund the money.

This was criticized by the Oregon Nurses Association, which said the hospital had no documentation to prove its claims that employees had been overpaid.

According to the Bend Bulletin, Dr. Steve Gordon, interim president and CEO of St. Charles, said in a statement that the health care system would seek damages from the payroll company.

Gordon also encourages employees to donate a portion of overpaid money to a St. Charles Foundation caregiver relief fund.