Report I2019-2 All Recommendation Responses
Report I2019-2: Investigations of Improper Activities by State Agencies and Employees: Inefficient Management of State Resources, Misuse of State Time and Inaccurate Attendance Records, and Inadequate Supervision (Release Date: April 2019)
Case Number I2018-0053
Recommendation #1 To: Tax and Fee Administration, California Department of
The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) should recover overpayments or adjust leave balances for the 25 exempt employees that this report identifies.
Agency Response From November 2019
CDTFA reported that as a result of its efforts, it identified a net 729 hours that the 25 employees owe the State.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
Agency Response From September 2019
CDTFA reported that it completed the review of three employees, including two of the 25 exempt employees that the report identified.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Agency Response From June 2019
CDTFA reported that it has begun to verify and audit the attendance records for the 25 exempt employees identified in the report.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Agency Response From March 2019
CDTFA reported that it plans to audit the attendance records of the 25 employees identified in the report. CDTFA stated that if it determined that any of these employees worked non-standard schedules but incorrectly reported time on their attendance records, it will notify the employees and require correction of attendance records for July 2016 through December 2018.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Case Number I2018-0053
Recommendation #2 To: Tax and Fee Administration, California Department of
CDTFA should review attendance records for these 25 exempt employees to determine whether the State owes them any holiday credits or other leave credits because the employees may have unnecessarily charged leave time on days that they were scheduled to be off.
Agency Response From November 2019
CDTFA reported that as a result of its efforts, it identified a net 729 hours that the 25 employees owe the State.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
Agency Response From September 2019
CDTFA reported that its human resources bureau completed the review of two employees' timesheets and estimated that credits are owed to both of them. It stated that the human resources bureau will notify the employees of these credits. In addition, CDTFA stated that it is verifying the timesheets and calendars of the remaining 23 exempt employees to determine if any adjustments are necessary.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Agency Response From June 2019
CDTFA reported that it has begun to verify and audit the attendance records for the 25 exempt employees identified in the report.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Agency Response From March 2019
CDTFA reported that it would require the 25 employees to reconstruct their attendance records to reflect their non-standard work schedules. CDTFA stated then it will review these reconstructed records to determine if the State owes them any holiday credits or other leave credits because the employees unnecessarily charged leave on days they were scheduled to be off.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Case Number I2018-0053
Recommendation #3 To: Tax and Fee Administration, California Department of
CDTFA should survey or otherwise determine leave use for all exempt employees who worked alternate schedules during the past three years to ascertain whether and by how much those employees were overpaid and to recover any overpayments as state law requires.
Agency Response From May 2020
CDTFA reported that it has reviewed all the timesheets from exempt employees who attested they worked alternate work schedules during the identified time period and identified a net of 4,525.25 hours that these exempt employees owed to the state. Finally, CDTFA reported that all leave reconciliations have been keyed.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
Agency Response From March 2020
CDTFA reported that it has reviewed approximately 91 percent of the timesheets from exempt employees who attested they worked an alternate work schedule during the identified time period. Approximately 23 percent of the exempt employees' timesheets have been keyed. The auditing of timesheets and the reconciliation of leave credits is taking longer than anticipated; therefore, the estimated completion date has changed from April 1, 2020 to June 1, 2020.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Agency Response From November 2019
CDTFA reported that it has reviewed 25 percent of the 236 exempt employees' timesheets who attested they worked a non-standard work schedule during the relevant time period. It plans to complete its review of the timesheets for these employees in March 2020.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Agency Response From September 2019
CDTFA reported that it sent attestation requests to all exempt employees asking if they worked non-standard schedules during the past three years. It stated that it reconciled the received attestation forms to State Controller's Office records and identified three outstanding attestation forms from employees. Based on the reconciliations, CDTFA stated that its human resources bureau determined that about 230 exempt employees need to reconstruct their timesheets. CDTFA stated that its next step is to verify the timesheets of the employees to determine if any adjustments are necessary, after it completes the audit of the first 25 exempt employees identified in the report.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Agency Response From June 2019
CDTFA reported that it has obtained work calendars for approximately 500 exempt employees for further review.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Agency Response From March 2019
CDTFA reported that it will audit leave use for all FLSA-exempt employees from July 2016 through December 2018. CDTFA indicated that if it determines that the employees worked non-standard work schedules but reported that they worked standard schedules, it will require those employees to reconstruct their attendance records and it will take appropriate steps, including adjusting leave balances or setting up accounts receivable, if necessary.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Case Number I2017-0405
Recommendation #4 To: Judicial Council of California
To ensure its efficient management of the Assigned Judges Program (AJP) funding and to determine the impact of its recent program changes, the Judicial Council should reassess the AJP no later than June 30, 2019, and it should examine in particular its allocation of service days and AJP funding to superior courts with surplus judges.
Agency Response From July 2019
The Judicial Council reported in July 2019 that it believes it has taken appropriate actions to correct concerns raised in the State Auditor's report. As a result of our report and its internal review, AJP policies have been revised to explicitly require consideration of a court's available judicial resources when determining whether to approve the assignment of a retired judge. Further, the Judicial Council published the Temporary Assigned Judges Program Handbook in June 2019 that reinforces the importance and emphasis on a court's need for program assistance.
In addition, in July 2019 the Judicial Council began posting data-based dashboards to monitor courts' adherence to revised program requirements. Specifically, program staff developed dashboards that are updated monthly and shared with the courts to provide court-specific information about the court's use of retired judges and noted that many courts have significantly reduced their reliance on using retired judges. Finally, the data enabled courts to make informed decisions about how and when to use a retired judge.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
Agency Response From June 2019
The Judicial Council reported that fiscal year 2018-2019 is a transition year for the Assigned Judges Program, now referred to as the Temporary Assigned Judges Program. During the fiscal year, the Judicial Council briefed the superior courts about the changes to the program and published its revised Standards and Guidelines for Temporary Judicial Assignments. In addition, the Judicial Council stated that its staff are revising the program's request form to ensure the courts provide all necessary information needed to evaluate a request for assistance. Further, the Judicial Council stated that the restriction on the number of service days a retired judge can serve in the program is the subject of litigation. Finally, the Judicial Council stated that it expects to further refine program rules in the upcoming fiscal year.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Agency Response From January 2019
The Judicial Council stated that it accepted our recommendation and that it would work toward fully implementing it.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Case Number I2017-0405
Recommendation #5 To: Judicial Council of California
To ensure that it has successfully implemented its recent AJP changes at the superior courts, the Judicial Council should periodically evaluate trial court compliance with the recent program changes.
Agency Response From July 2019
The Judicial Council reported in July 2019 that program staff developed data tools to monitor courts' adherence to revised program requirements. Specifically, program staff developed dashboards that are updated monthly and shared with the courts to provide court-specific information about the court's use of retired judges. In addition, the Judicial Council's executive management regularly reviews the dashboards to evaluate court compliance with program policies.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
Agency Response From June 2019
The Judicial Council reported that it intends to evaluate court compliance with the new rules and restrictions but noted that the superior courts' transition is ongoing while the program's rules continue to be refined. Once the rules are finalized, the Judicial Council stated that it will develop a compliance program to periodically evaluate adherence to the rules.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Agency Response From January 2019
The Judicial Council stated that it accepted our recommendation and that it would work toward fully implementing it.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Case Number I2018-0210
Recommendation #6 To: University, California State
The California State University (CSU) campus should take immediate and appropriate disciplinary action against the police officer for failing to be fully prepared to perform her duties and for inaccurately reporting the hours she worked while in the investigation unit; consider deducting her leave balances for the hours during which she was not performing her duties.
Agency Response From February 2020
The campus provided documentation that it served the police officer with a 30-day, unpaid suspension for misconduct.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
Agency Response From January 2020
The campus informed us that it has taken appropriate disciplinary action against the police officer, who is appealing the action. However, it has not provided adequate documentation of the action it served.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Agency Response From August 2019
The campus reported that it is finalizing the notice of disciplinary action for the officer.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Agency Response From June 2019
The campus reported that it is considering disciplinary action for the officer to the extent permitted by the applicable collective bargaining agreement and laws.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Agency Response From March 2019
The campus reported that it plans to address the recommendations to the extent permitted by the applicable collective bargaining agreement and laws.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Case Number I2018-0210
Recommendation #7 To: University, California State
The CSU campus should take immediate and appropriate disciplinary action against Sergeant I for approving and allowing the police officer to remove part of her uniform and to lie down while on duty, as well as for his failure to perform his supervisory duties.
Agency Response From February 2020
The campus provided documentation that Sergeant 1's employment was terminated for misconduct.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
Agency Response From January 2020
The campus informed us that it has taken appropriate disciplinary action against Sergeant I, who is appealing the action. However, it has not provided adequate documentation of the action it served.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Agency Response From August 2019
The campus reported that it is finalizing the notice of disciplinary action for the sergeant.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Agency Response From June 2019
The campus reported that it is considering disciplinary action for the sergeant to the extent permitted by the applicable collective bargaining agreement and other laws.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Agency Response From March 2019
The campus reported that it plans to address the recommendations to the extent permitted by the applicable collective bargaining agreement and laws.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Case Number I2018-0210
Recommendation #8 To: University, California State
The CSU campus should develop a written policy within 90 days that explains how and when the police department expects employees to check in and out of their shifts. The policy should specify where all employees should be when they check in and out--for example, it should state whether the employees should be physically on campus.
Agency Response From January 2020
The campus has developed a policy regarding officer work hours and the procedures that officers are expected to follow when reporting for duty, including where they should be when they sign on for duty.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
Agency Response From August 2019
The campus reported that it has drafted written guidelines and clarifications regarding officer work hours and the procedures that officers are expected to follow when reporting for work and are officially on duty. The draft is currently under review to ensure its compliance with applicable collective bargaining requirements.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Agency Response From June 2019
The campus stated that it will review current police department policies and make the necessary revisions or additions to the policy related to shift check-in and check-out times.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Agency Response From March 2019
The campus reported that it plans to address the recommendation to the extent permitted by the applicable collective bargaining agreement and laws.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Case Number I2018-0210
Recommendation #9 To: University, California State
The CSU campus should provide training within 90 days to all police department staff that covers relevant sections of the police department policy manual, including the following requirements for all uniformed police department employees:
-- Employees should be prompt, prepared, and ready to work on assignments.
-- Employees should be punctual in reporting to a duty station or assignment.
-- Employees should not leave before the end of their scheduled hours.
Agency Response From January 2020
The campus reported that it verbally and electronically communicated its new policy on reporting to work to all officers in December 2019. It also stated that it is requiring all officers to sign the policy to acknowledge they have read and understand it.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
Agency Response From August 2019
In June 2019, the campus police chief told department staff that it would resume command staff meetings, thereby allowing the police department the opportunity to remind staff of expectations and to ensure transparency and clear communications regarding significant events, changes, and policies. The police department also distributed memos related to training, staffing, and procedural updates to all staff and asked the staff to initial the memos after reviewing them. In addition, the campus stated that the police department will begin distributing updates regarding policies, procedures, and best practices to achieve increased accountability, consistency, and transparency.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Agency Response From June 2019
The campus stated that it will review and update current police department policies to ensure clarity and understanding of these expectations with an emphasis on the three components identified in the recommendation.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Agency Response From March 2019
The campus reported that it plans to address the recommendation to the extent permitted by the applicable collective bargaining agreement and laws.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Case Number I2018-0210
Recommendation #10 To: University, California State
The CSU campus should remind supervisors immediately of their responsibility to identify and document when employees are perceived to be unable to perform their duties because of physical conditions, as outlined in applicable policies.
Agency Response From August 2019
The campus stated that the police chief is working to remind supervisors of their responsibilities to identify and document when employees are perceived to be unable to perform their duties because of physical conditions. The campus stated that the police department will continue to communicate these responsibilities as new supervisors are hired and employees return from leaves of absences.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
Agency Response From June 2019
The campus stated that it will review the applicable police department policy and remind supervisors of their responsibilities and will follow up with a written communication to the supervisors to ensure clarity and understanding of their responsibilities on these matters.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Agency Response From March 2019
The campus reported that it plans to address the recommendation to the extent permitted by the applicable collective bargaining agreement and laws.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Case Number I2018-0027
Recommendation #11 To: Water Resources Control Board
The State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) should take appropriate disciplinary actions against Engineers A, B, and C for their misuse of state time and dishonesty during their interviews.
Agency Response From April 2020
The State Water Board reported that it implemented unpaid suspensions of eight workdays for Engineers A and B and nine workdays for Engineer C. After we subsequently asked the State Water Board for the necessary documentation to support that it took these actions, the State Water Board provided us with the requested documentation.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
Agency Response From March 2020
The State Water Board reported that it is still in progress to take appropriate disciplinary actions against the three engineers.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Agency Response From November 2019
The State Water Board reported that it is still in progress to take appropriate disciplinary actions against the three engineers.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Agency Response From August 2019
The State Water Board reported that it is still in progress to take appropriate disciplinary actions against the three engineers.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Agency Response From July 2019
The State Water Board reported that it is still in progress to take appropriate disciplinary actions against the three engineers.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Agency Response From May 2019
The State Water Board reported that it is in progress to take appropriate disciplinary actions against the three engineers.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Case Number I2018-0027
Recommendation #12 To: Water Resources Control Board
The State Water Board should determine the amount of time it can charge Engineers A, B, and C to account for their missed hours, reduce their leave balances accordingly, and if applicable, seek to recover from them any wages paid for time they did not work.
Agency Response From April 2020
The State Water Board reported that all three engineers have repaid the State for their missed work time.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
Agency Response From March 2020
The State Water Board reported that two of the three engineers have fully repaid the State and the third engineer is anticipated to fully repay the State within the next several months.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Agency Response From November 2019
The State Water Board reported that although it would have taken the State Controller's Office (SCO) approximately six to eight months in setting up the accounts receivables, the SCO has agreed to expedite the process for these claims.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Agency Response From August 2019
The State Water Board reported that the three engineers have amended their past timesheets to reflect their misuse of State time. The State Water Board also stated that it currently is in the process of establishing accounts receivable to collect the salaries the three engineers received for work hours they had missed.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Agency Response From July 2019
The State Water Board reported that this action still is in progress.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Agency Response From May 2019
The State Water Board reported that this action is in progress and that portions of this action are dependent on the outcome of the disciplinary actions taken against the three engineers.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Case Number I2018-0027
Recommendation #13 To: Water Resources Control Board
The State Water Board should take appropriate corrective or disciplinary actions against the three engineers' supervisor, which should include providing supervisory training to ensure that he holds the three engineers accountable for their missed work time.
Agency Response From April 2020
The State Water Board reported that in addition to the training courses the supervisor completed, he was also issued a counseling memorandum. After we subsequently asked the State Water Board for the necessary documentation to support that it took this action, the State Water Board provided us with the requested documentation.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
Agency Response From March 2020
The State Water Board reported that the supervisor completed training that covered topics such as hours of work, time and attendance, performance management, and other labor relations issues. In addition, the State Water Board informed us that the supervisor completed a longer basic training class for supervisors that provides instructions on appropriate supervisory duties.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Agency Response From November 2019
The State Water Board reported that in addition to the training courses the supervisor has taken and another he will take in January 2020, it is currently in the process of taking disciplinary actions against the supervisor.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Agency Response From August 2019
The State Water Board reported that the supervisor wilt take a series of training sessions in September 2019 that will cover topics such as hours of work, performance management, and other labor relations topics.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Agency Response From July 2019
The State Water Board reported that in June 2019 the supervisor completed one week of the two-week basic training class and stated that the remaining week of training will be available to take in October 2019.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Agency Response From May 2019
The State Water Board reported that it will require the supervisor to take a series of training modules that focuses on supervisors' duties in monitoring and tracking subordinates' work hours and performance. It added that the supervisor will also retake a longer basic training class that is intended to provide supervisors with knowledge of supervisors' duties and behaviors.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Case Number I2018-0027
Recommendation #14 To: Water Resources Control Board
The State Water Board should require this supervisor to implement policies and procedures to ensure that his subordinates account for all of their missed work hours.
Agency Response From July 2019
The State Water Board reported that the supervisor met with staff on two separate occasions to discuss job expectations and that it modified the work schedules of the three engineers so they now have the same work schedule as the supervisor. In addition, the State Water Board stated that the supervisor will be required to meet monthly with his superior to ensure that he properly monitors his staff.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
Agency Response From May 2019
The State Water Board reported that it is requiring that the supervisor formulate expectations for his staff about accounting for time and to create procedures to monitor time so that he and his supervisor track subordinates' attendance. It added that these expectations and procedures also will be reviewed by its human resources branch.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Case Number I2017-0905
Recommendation #15 To: Water Resources Control Board
The State Water Board should require Employee A's supervisor to continue to monitor and examine weekly time reports for Employee A and other subordinate employees to ensure that they account properly for all of the time worked and the leave taken.
Agency Response From September 2019
The State Water Board reported that it completed the six-month review of the supervisor's monitoring of time and work report summaries for his subordinate employees, which showed that the supervisor ensured that the subordinates properly accounted for their time worked and leave taken.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
Agency Response From June 2019
The State Water Board provided a written response to us and stated that in response to our recommendation, it implemented a six-month review period for the supervisor to continuously monitor and examine time and work report summaries for his employees to ensure that these employees continue to properly account for their work and leave. The State Water Board stated that it expects to finalize this review in October 2019.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Agency Response From February 2019
The State Water Board provided us with work report summaries to substantiate its efforts thus far in overseeing the supervisor's continued monitoring and examination of his employees' time reports for the first and second quarter of 2019. State Water Board has provided work report summaries for the employees for the period of January 1, 2019 through May 31, 2019, to substantiate that the supervisor is ensuring that these employees continue to properly account for their work and leave.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Case Number I2018-0009
Recommendation #16 To: Transportation, Department of
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) should ensure that it recoups all overpayments that it made to the associate.
Agency Response From September 2019
Caltrans provided evidence indicating that it requested the SCO to initiate an accounts receivable totaling $11,559, which will go into effect once the SCO processes the request. As Caltrans has completed all of our recommended actions, we consider this recommendation fully implemented. Nevertheless, we requested that it notify us when the SCO formally establishes the receivable.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
Agency Response From August 2019
In May 2019 Caltrans reported that it requested the SCO to initiate accounts receivable from the associating totaling about $11,500. In August 2019 Caltrans stated that it is waiting still on the SCO to establish the accounts receivable for the associate.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Agency Response From April 2019
Caltrans stated that it sent accounts receivable to the State Controller's Office (SCO) in December 2018 and January 2019 for numerous pay periods. Once the SCO establishes the accounts receivable, Caltrans will set up the accounts receivable to begin payroll deductions.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Agency Response From February 2019
Caltrans confirmed that it officially sent notice to the associate of the overpayments and agreed that if the associate fails to respond, it will begin collection efforts and continue until the entire amount has been collected.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Case Number I2018-0009
Recommendation #17 To: Transportation, Department of
Caltrans should notify all Caltrans employees of the limitations of bereavement leave and where bargaining agreements can be located for additional information specific to bereavement leave.
Agency Response From March 2019
In March 2019, Caltrans issued a personnel information bulletin to all of its employees informing them of the limitations of bereavement leave as specified in their bargaining agreements and where the bargaining agreements can be located.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
Case Number I2018-0009
Recommendation #18 To: Transportation, Department of
Caltrans should remind supervisors of their responsibility to ensure that employees properly charge leave, including bereavement leave, and to not exceed the allowable limits that the bargaining agreements outline.
Agency Response From March 2019
In March 2019 Caltrans issued a labor relations alert reminding supervisors of their responsibility to ensure that all leave, including bereavement leave, is charged properly and does not exceed the allowable limits outlined in the bargaining agreements.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
Case Number I2018-0009
Recommendation #19 To: Transportation, Department of
Caltrans should consider revising its policy to require supervisors to request employees to submit substantiation, such as a funeral announcement, for each claim of bereavement leave.
Agency Response From November 2020
Caltrans stated previously that it would not revise its policy to require supervisors to request that employees submit substantiation for each claim of bereavement leave. Instead, Caltrans reiterated that it would continue to follow the relevant bargaining agreements and contact its labor relations staff for guidance.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Resolved
Agency Response From May 2019
Caltrans stated that it does not intend to take any additional action on this recommendation other than what it described previously.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Agency Response From February 2019
Caltrans disagreed with our recommendation to consider revising its policy to require supervisors to request that employees submit substantiation for each claim of bereavement leave. Instead, Caltrans affirmed that it would continue to follow the relevant bargaining agreements and contact its labor relations staff for guidance. However, we contend that the bargaining agreements do not prohibit Caltrans from requiring its supervisors to request substantiation of bereavement leave from its employees.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: No Action Taken
Case Number I2018-0009
Recommendation #20 To: Transportation, Department of
Caltrans should consider conducting leave audits of the other subordinate staff that the supervisor formerly oversaw.
Agency Response From August 2019
For the three additional employees that Caltrans discovered were overpaid, it initiated accounts receivable totaling about $5,500.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
Agency Response From April 2019
Caltrans reported that it completed its audit and found that three additional employees were overpaid. Caltrans stated that it will obtain additional information regarding how many days were found in error for each employee.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Agency Response From March 2019
Caltrans reported in March 2019 that it had completed 10 of the 11 required leave audits. It stated that it will compile all of the findings for our review when it has completed the final leave audit.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Case Number I2017-1308
Recommendation #21 To: Controller's Office, State
The State Controller's Office (SCO) should immediately recover overpayments made to the employee or adjust her leave balances by 23 hours to account for her missed work time.
Agency Response From July 2019
The State Controller's Office reported that it had set up an accounts receivable and collected the amount the employee owed to the State.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
Case Number I2017-1308
Recommendation #22 To: Controller's Office, State
By April 2019, the SCO should review attendance for the employee for the time period that she worked an alternate schedule to determine whether she owes the State any additional hours as a result of informally switching her regular day off (RDO). If she does, the SCO should recover any overpayments or adjust her leave balances accordingly.
Agency Response From October 2021
The State Controller's Office reiterated the information that it provided to us in 2019 and stated that the employee's leave balances were adjusted accordingly, consistent with all hours the employee used. It also provided us with the specific dates that were involved in the case.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
Agency Response From February 2020
In February 2020, the State Controller's Office reported that due to a large executive staff turnover during the past several months, it could not provide us with the additional information we had requested.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Agency Response From January 2020
In August 2019 and January 2020, we again asked the State Controller's Office to identify the specific date and the number of hours the employee owed to the State. We have yet to receive a response.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Agency Response From July 2019
The State Controller's Office reported that it reviewed the employee's attendance records for the time period she worked an alternate schedule and found one additional instance during which she informally switched her RDO. The State Controller's Office stated that it had charged the employee's leave credits accordingly.
We asked the State Controller's Office to identify the specific date and the number of hours the employee owed to the State. When the requested information was not forthcoming, we sent the State Controller's Office a follow-up email. A month has now passed since we made our original request, and the State Controller's Office still has not provided the information.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Case Number I2017-1308
Recommendation #23 To: Controller's Office, State
By June 2019, the SCO should review the attendance records of the manager's other staff to determine whether the other employees also failed to account for any missed work time.
Agency Response From October 2021
The State Controller's Office reported that its human resources staff reviewed the records of the manager's other employees and identified no instances of these employees switching RDO days and under-reporting hours worked.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
Agency Response From February 2020
In February 2020, the State Controller's Office reported that due to large executive staff turnover during the past several months, it could not provide us with the additional information we had requested.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Agency Response From January 2020
In August 2019 and January 2020, we again asked the State Controller's Office for the names of the four employees, as well as an explanation for how it determined that they had not failed to account for any work hours. We have yet to receive a response.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Agency Response From July 2019
The State Controller's Office jointly responded to this and the following recommendation by stating that all of its division chiefs had completed their reviews and found that four unnamed employees had informally switched their RDOs. The State Controller's Office stated that after analyzing the timesheets for these employees, it determined that although they had informally switched their RDO's, they had not actually failed to account for any work hours. We have requested the names of the four employees.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Case Number I2017-1308
Recommendation #24 To: Controller's Office, State
The SCO should determine whether other managers or supervisors at the SCO also allowed employees to informally switch their RDOs. If so, the SCO should review the attendance records for the relevant employees to verify that they accurately recorded their time off and hours worked. To the extent that the SCO determines other employees improperly accounted for their time, the SCO should recover any overpayments or adjust their leave balances accordingly.
Agency Response From October 2021
The State Controller's Office reported in October 2021 that it had tried to identify the names of the four employees who had switched their RDOs as noted in its July 2019 update. However, given that more than two years have elapsed, it could not find any information about the specific names. Regardless, as noted in July 2019, it indicated that it had taken action as it deemed appropriate.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Resolved
Agency Response From February 2020
In February 2020, the State Controller's Office reported that due to a large executive staff turnover during the past several months, it could not provide us with the additional information we had requested.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Agency Response From January 2020
In August 2019 and January 2020, we again asked the State Controller's Office for the names of the four employees and an explanation for how it determined that they did not fail to account for any work hours. We have yet to receive a response.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Agency Response From July 2019
The State Controller's Office jointly responded to this and the previous recommendation by stating that all of its division chiefs had completed their reviews and found that four employees had informally switched their RDOs. The State Controller's Office stated that after analyzing these employees' timesheets, it determined that although they had informally switched their RDO's, they had not actually failed to account for any work hours.
We asked the State Controller's Office to provide the names of the four employees identified as having informally switched their RDOs and the specific dates that each of these employees had switched their RDOs. In addition, we asked the State Controller's Office to provide an explanation, as well as any supporting documentation, of how it determined that these employees had not failed to account for any work hours. However, more than one month after our request and even after we had sent a follow-up email, the State Controller's Office has not responded to us.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Case Number I2017-1245
Recommendation #25 To: Industrial Relations, Department of
The Department of Industrial Relations (Industrial Relations) should provide instruction to all supervisors to maintain an accurate record of subordinate staff's daily work hours by either requiring all hourly employees to record the hours worked on their timesheet or using another reliable and consistent system to record daily hours worked by subordinate staff.
Agency Response From December 2019
In October 2019 Industrial Relations sent a memo to all DIR managers and supervisors letting them know that hourly, non-exempt employees are required to report their actual hours worked on a daily basis on the standard monthly timesheet.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
Agency Response From October 2019
Industrial Relations stated that its human resources staff and labor relations staff expressed concerns that the memo conflicted with provisions in a memorandum of understanding and a prior settlement regarding electronic monitoring. Thus, Industrial Relations stated that it is revising the memo to address these issues.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Agency Response From June 2019
Industrial Relations stated that the memo is awaiting approval from its acting chief counsel.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Agency Response From May 2019
Industrial Relations reported that it is drafting a memo to send as a department policy to require that its non-exempt employees maintain daily hours worked.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Case Number I2017-1245
Recommendation #26 To: Industrial Relations, Department of
Industrial Relations should provide training to the two supervisors regarding proper time and attendance procedures.
Agency Response From February 2020
Industrial Relations reported that the two supervisors received the recommended training in January 2020.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
Agency Response From October 2019
Industrial Relations stated that the HR manager has not yet provided the training to the two supervisors.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Agency Response From June 2019
Industrial Relations stated that it has arranged for an HR manager to provide training to the two supervisors. The training will involve discussions of best practices for time monitoring and recording for hourly employees.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Agency Response From May 2019
Industrial Relations stated that it plans to provide training to the two supervisors; however, it has not identified the specific training for them.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
Case Number I2017-0638
Recommendation #27 To: Social Services, Department of
The California Department of Social Services (Social Services) should require that the supervisor retake supervisory training regarding managing employee performance and the importance of following the State's progressive discipline process.
Agency Response From January 2020
Social Services provided us with the certificates of completion for the leadership training courses that the supervisor completed.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
Agency Response From June 2019
Social Services reported that it has enrolled the supervisor in multiple leadership trainings offered by the California Department of Human Resources.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
Case Number I2017-0638
Recommendation #28 To: Social Services, Department of
Within the guidelines of the relevant bargaining unit agreement, Social Services should place appropriate documentation in the office technician's personnel or supervisory file to demonstrate that he failed to complete his work and wasted state time in the event that he returns to his job at Social Services.
Agency Response From June 2019
Social Services reported that the office technician returned from leave and that he is reporting to a new supervisor. Social Services stated that it placed a memorandum in the new supervisor's file documenting the office technician's waste of state time.