Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Courthouse timeclocks

Luzerne County catches up with technology invented in the 19th Century. The stories of no show jobs and county employees putting in less than a full days work have been told for as long as I can remember. It now looks like those days may be ending.



County selects firm to put in time clocks for employees


Commissioners chose Chelmsford, Mass.-based Kronos Inc., a work force management software provider, to install and maintain Biometric readers that will require employees to press their fingers or palms on a special pad to clock in and out.

I can't say that I'm crazy about this biometric thing because it reminds me of General Jack Ripper going over the edge because his precious bodily fluids were violated. It comes across as another invasion of privacy like all the video cameras watching your every move in Wilkes-Barre and other cities.

But the trade off is ending this stuff as recounted by Mike McGlynn:


One of the reforms adopted recently is requiring county employees to show up at the courthouse on payday to pick up their checks. Many county workers considered this a brazen affront to their integrity, or, lack thereof. As one story goes, a veteran no-show county employee from up Pittston way was furious when his neighbor, of similar employ, told him they now would have to be at the courthouse in person to be paid. The angry man became even angrier when he went to the courthouse the next payday and was told his name did not appear on the county payroll. Muttering dark oaths against his political patrons, he returned home empty-handed. Subsequently, he learned he was to have reported to the courthouse in Wilkes-Barre -- not the courthouse in Scranton.

6 comments:

Stephen Albert said...

What? Require county employees to PROVE that they were at work? How dare they! What do they think this is, a job or something?

Anonymous said...

everyone calm down...the people that are the no shows are management and according to todays article it looks like their already bowing out of that part of the deal. it's not the hard working, low paying union people who are taking high pay for no show. the commissioners said EVERYONE was going to have to use it, including management and now....well, it looks like that will change. so it's just going to be another wasted project of tax payer dollars. the commissioners must have said this from the get go just so they could get it implemented. we'll see who is going to get excluded...wait and see....management. what you'll have left there is all the high paying, do nothing, no shows and MORE tax hikes. some things never change with the three stooges.

Stephen Albert said...

I have no problem with a time clock system being applied to everyone. I do have a problem with zero accountability when it comes to government resources (human or otherwise).

Anonymous said...

Time cloclks are a joke. Petrilla will not - can not force Row Officers to use them and she cannot force the court employees to use them She is spending a half million dollars of borrowed money nnd saying she will save over a million dollars a year. That is a crock of shit, pure and simple. They scream about overtime but who get paid OT? The DA's office and the prison, that's who. Petrilla turned down a company who charged half the cost of the equipment and half the cost of maintenance. The same company currently handles a company of 2500 employees and they are local. Petrilla's company is from Boston.

The people who continue to shout about the "workers" of the county finally being held responsible are buying into the bullshit that the low paid people don't work. Fact is that its the low paid employees who do all the work and get their balls busted to be at work on time, don't be late getting back from lunch and must stay the full day. The people who tink otherwise don't have a clue. Wake up and tell Petrilla to fergedaboutit.

Anonymous said...

Hey, how about Doug Pape trhrowing that vendor under the bus. He said the guy told him in confidence that he wrote the specs in such a way that outsiders probably would not bid on the job but keep that under his hat. Slimball Pape was busting at the seems to say that publically. The problem is that nobody know if the guy said it or not so Pape and Luzerne COunty cold very well be in a position of defending a defamation legal action. Stupid Pape, just plain stupid.

PoorRichard said...

If Doug Pape worked in my pizza shop he would be out the door in a heart beat. The guy just gave Mr Hillman free pizza for life and a defamation jury will see to it that Mr Pape is the delivery guy. I wonder if Mr Hillman would want pepperoni on that? County managers need to be changed. Just think how much pizza could be bought with a half million dollars! Yum Yum