Employees will soon scan a finger to get paid in Dallas County.
Commissioners approved buying 119 biometric time clocks and badge readers that use fingerprint and face recognition to minimize payroll fraud and maximize security.
A recent data breach and computer systems breakdown make some nervous about new technology.
Commissioner Elba Garcia questioned whether the software and equipment would be tested before it goes live.
“I just want to sound cautious about the, you know, nightmare that we have with technology around here” Garcia said.
County administrator Darryl Martin said the goal is for the new equipment and software to run smoothly before the new year.
“The toughest part is going to be the finger piece, and the fingerprinting,” Martin said. “So that's going to be the part that's going to need some time and some training.”
Commissioner John Wiley Price said money makes learning quicker.
"Fool, if you don't put the right finger up there, you don't get paid,” he said. “Hell, I mean, it's real simple. Put a big sign up there, say, ‘Fool, this is your finger, this is your finger if you want to get paid.’"
The [Kronos] UKG Touch DX biometric-capable time clocks cost more than half a million dollars, but could've helped avoid a potential 50 million budget shortfall.
High overtime and some medical leave pay in the sheriff and juvenile departments recently raised suspicions of abuse and caused budget-balancing panic.
Some employees reported working 18 hours a day, seven days a week.
Price said the new system makes fraud and abuse easier to identify.
“That dadgum biometrics — when you hit it, whether it's overtime, whether it's comp time, it's going to ping it.”
The sheriff’s department will use the new UKG TeleStaff [Kronos] scheduling software to test the first batch of time clocks.
The juvenile department will use the next lot.
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