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Los Angeles Sends 14,000 Faulty W-2s to City Workers

Creating a huge paperwork nightmare, the city of Los Angeles sent out 14,000 incorrect W-2 forms to public employees, overstating their income by hundreds of dollars in some cases, officials said this week.

Although the city--which employs 50,000 people--issued corrected forms, the accounting glitch caused headaches for employees who had already filed their tax forms with the IRS.

Councilman Rudy Svorinich is expected to ask the City Council next week to launch an investigation into the snafu. He is also requesting that the city reimburse employees for money they spent amending their tax returns.

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Chief Deputy Controller Tim Lynch said his office, which prepares the city’s W-2 forms, mistakenly included as income some of the money the city spent on the employees’ benefits.

“The change ranged from pennies to hundreds of dollars,” Lynch said. “In most cases, the difference was under $20.”

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