News Update

San Francisco Unified failed to file wage reports with state; employees could face tax problems

Yet another major payroll problem has hit the San Francisco Unified School District.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported late Wednesday that the district failed to file three quarterly wage reports to the state in 2022, an omission that could delay tax returns and refunds to teachers and other district employees. Thousands of people could be affected.

In a statement, SFUSD Superintendent Matt Wayne announced that while the district collected taxes and paid them to the state on schedule, the payments did not differentiate the amount of taxes paid by each employee.

It is not yet known if this mistake is related to the district’s use of EMPowerSF, a payroll deduction software system that has been the subject of major complaints from the teachers union, the Chronicle reported.

“We are deeply sorry for the stress and concern this has caused our staff and their families,” Wayne said in a statement. “SFUSD is undertaking accountability measures to ensure this does not happen again. We are urgently working to rectify this error and the possible cascading impacts for employees.”

It was not clear how many of the 9,000 district employees were affected by the incorrect filing, but all employees were notified Tuesday that their tax returns will be complicated by the mistake. The district is working with the California Franchise Tax Board on the matter.