Milwaukee Public Schools employees did not receive their paychecks Friday for work performed from December 7 through December 20, according to an anonymous email received by TMJ4.
TMJ4's Megan Lee spoke with at least a dozen teachers throughout the day who confirmed they were not paid. They woke up Friday morning to find their paycheck not deposited, and some even reported overdraft fees because bills and union dues came out as scheduled.
According to an email the district sent MPS employees, the delay was caused by an error by US Bank that led to payments only being partially processed.
MPS noted the error has been corrected, and all payments were processed by 2:30 p.m. Friday.
Watch: MPS employees face paycheck delays right before weekend
The email read, in part, that:
"US Bank, the bank Milwaukee Public Schools uses, confirmed at approximately 2:30 p.m. that funds have been issued to all of your designated banks or credit unions. We are working with several financial institutions to ensure these funds are accessible to you as soon as possible.
Here is the background on the situation: Milwaukee Public Schools submitted payroll today, Friday, January 2, 2026, in order to follow federal tax regulations that prevent employees from accessing 2026 wages in 2025. This plan was shared with employees in a December 18 communication via MPS Express. We confirmed with US Bank earlier in December that this would be taking place and that same-day payroll would be processed without issue today. This morning, we sent out payroll as planned at approximately 6 a.m., and US Bank confirmed that payroll was received. We followed up by phone for additional confirmation — and it was again confirmed. At about 11:30 a.m., US Bank contacted us and confirmed an error on their end and that payments were only partially processed."
An MPS spokesperson said some financial institutions may take additional time to post deposits.
TMJ4 followed up with MPS to ask if the paychecks were submitted on time and inquired about the overdraft fees. They have not responded.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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