The New York City Council is delivering a not-so-happy holiday message to many of its former staffers. The council’s Personnel Services division sent letters to dozens of former employees of the legislative body over the past month notifying them that they were sent an erroneous payment more than a year ago, and demanding that they repay the money in a lump sum by Dec. 18 or send a request by that date to repay in installments.
Some former employees have been told that they will have to repay hundreds of dollars, or, in some reported cases, more. The Association of Legislative Employees, the union representing council staffers, said they have been informed by dozens of former staffers that they have received repayment demands ranging from $50 to $7,000. An ALE spokesperson said that the council reported to the union that an estimated 250 staffers total were affected by the overpayment error. A City Council spokesperson was not able to immediately confirm either of these figures and has not yet provided a comment on the incident.
The issue, as described in a letter sent to one of the former staffers and obtained by City & State, dates back to the summer of 2024, following the ratification of the first contract for members of the Association of Legislative Employees earlier that spring. The contract, which covers 2021 through 2027, included raises and bonuses for union members, but only people who were employed on the date of ratification – April 13, 2024 – were eligible for backpay related to the contract, according to the letter. At least one former staffer affected was last employed by the council in 2021…