Union says payroll errors and harassment persist; commission to invite HR and send letter

Local 1426 representatives told the Fairfield Fire Commission on Monday that payroll errors and what they described as continued harassment of firefighter Caitlyn Pereira have not improved since last year.

“The harassment has continued. It hasn't changed. It's actually intensified,” a Local 1426 representative said during the public-comment portion of the meeting, describing grievances the union has advanced to step two and a municipal prohibited-practice filing. The union also said raises and promotion amounts have repeatedly been processed incorrectly, requiring multiple corrections.

The union representative urged commissioners to intervene. “All we want is our guys paid correctly,” the representative said, asking that the commission draft a formal letter and press the town’s finance office to fix recurring payroll coding and input errors.

Commissioners said they would pursue multiple parallel actions. They agreed to form a small subcommittee — including the chief and two commissioners — to draft a letter to the finance department and to request information about payroll systems used by neighboring municipalities. The commission also reported it had invited HR and the First Selectwoman to appear; HR was not available that night but is expected to attend a future meeting to discuss the grievances.

Town staff described why payroll problems persist. The fire department tracks time and accruals in its incident-management software, which staff said must be exported as CSV to finance; coding differences (for example, 40- vs. 42-hour schedules) and human data-entry steps can lead to misapplied step increases and overtime calculations, the chief said. Commissioners told staff they expect the town to produce accurate paychecks and asked the CFO or finance director to appear at a follow-up meeting.

The commission asked staff to compile examples and to contact peers in nearby towns to compare payroll software and practices. Members emphasized they would send a formal letter if errors continue and that remedial action should include both systems fixes and clearer coordination between departments.