Frustration boils after Maryland mistakenly issued double payments to workers who took buyouts
WJZ
By Mike Hellgren
Click here for updates on this story
MARYLAND (WJZ) — A software error caused 293 former state workers to receive twice their buyout payments, WJZ Investigates has learned.
Maryland officials are advising those who received the excess funds not to touch the extra money in their accounts, which will be taken back automatically.
The payments will be taken out of the accounts over the next several weeks, and the state promises to put the correct amounts into the accounts by November 19.
Maryland officials said they notified those impacted by email and by phone.
Maryland formally eliminated more than 500 positions in state government on Wednesday, most of them from a voluntary buyout program. The move helps Maryland’s struggling budget.
The state’s spending board approved the cuts without question during its meeting on Wednesday.
Gov. Wes Moore authorized the buyouts for 332 employees. Almost 900 workers applied for the Voluntary Separation Program.
Approximately 170 positions that were already vacant are also being eliminated to save the state tens of millions of dollars.
“None of these choices is easy,” Gov. Moore said at the Board of Public Works meeting. “I do want to ensure the public, including all of our public servants, that we will continue to protect our people.”
The position eliminations are expected to save the state $10.5 million during fiscal year 2026 and $22 million in general funds during fiscal year 2027.
The glitch in the Voluntary Separation Program (VSP) was revealed this week. WJZ Investigates found the state mistakenly double-paid 293 of those workers, and they are now working to take the money back.
That includes $40,000, instead of the agreed-upon $20,000 lump sum, plus double the $300 for each year of service.
One of those workers who asked to remain anonymous is outraged at how it was handled.
“It’s sad for our government,” she said. “It’s sad for our state. It’s sad for the employees.”
In an email she received, the state blamed a “software error” and asked those who received the buyout payments to “please retain these funds. The entire amount (correct payment and overpayment) you received will be automatically debited from your account within the next 2 weeks. A new, correct payment will be transmitted to you on November 19th. Apologies for the inconvenience this may cause… .”
“I’m not giving them permission to go to my account and take out money,” the former worker told WJZ Investigates. “Yes, I know it’s not my money, but let’s talk about it. Don’t just send me an email and say, ‘Don’t touch any of that money. We’re taking it back sometime in two weeks when we decide.'”
She continued, “I was alarmed, scared, frustrated, and to think that they can now just go back into my account, really without my authorization, and take the money.”
In a statement to WJZ, Senior Advisor and Communications Director David Turner said once the overpayments went out, there was nothing they could immediately do.
“On October 20, the Department of Budget and Management discovered a file error that resulted in double payments to 293 VSP participants,” Turner wrote. “As the electronic payment process for all state employees was already in progress, there would have been considerable risk in modifying the payment file. Therefore, the state paid all state employees on schedule—providing notice to VSP participants that, due to a software error, the funds they received will be recalled and the correct amount reissued.”
Turner warned that Maryland will take action to get the overpayments back.
“If overpayments are not returned in full, the state may pursue recoupment via employee leave balance payouts, standard collection procedures, or, in the worst cases, tax refund intercepts to recover the funds,” Turner said.
The former worker who discovered the problem said it has shaken her trust in the state government.
“I didn’t go to you and say, ‘Hey, buy me out to fix your deficit.’ You offered that to me,” she said. “We’re publicizing that we want to help federal employees with employment. Well, you’re not paying the employees who have dedicated themselves to you already. I would’ve rather them just not give me anything and to say, ‘Hey, there’s a glitch, you’ll get paid in two weeks.'”
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.