STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. — On Friday, hundreds of Dekalb County teachers and staff arrived at the school district headquarters in Stone Mountain and waited hours to get paid.
According to district officials, employees faced a delay in receiving their paycheck through the mail due to either a postal service issue or in some cases, incorrect addresses on file.
Officials said checks were mailed out on Sep. 9 and that they asked employees who had not been paid by Sep. 17 to come to the district office on Friday afternoon. They said they initially estimated only 40 employees would need a re-issued check, but the number increased to 200 within 24 hours.
Some teachers said they waited in line for almost five hours in unfavorable conditions.
“First, we were waiting outside for a good hour and the heat was getting too much for some people," said one.
Another employee said that no social distancing was enforced.
"You come into over 100 people - into an auditorium," the employee said. "Some with no mask."
Dekalb Schools said the incident only impacted new employees or returning employees who had not set up direct deposit yet and that all paychecks were picked up by 6 p.m. on Friday. Per the district human resources department, employees are paid on the fifteenth and last day of every month.