Report I2010-1045 Recommendations and Responses in 2015-041
Report I2010-1045: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and California Correctional Health Care Services: Both Agencies Wasted State Resources by Improperly Accounting for Leave Taken by Their Employees
| Department | Number of Years Reported As Not Fully Implemented | Total Recommendations to Department | Not Implemented After One Year | Not Implemented as of 2014-041 Response | Not Implemented as of Most Recent Response |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California Correctional Health Care Services | 2 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation | 2 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
Recommendation To: Correctional Health Care Services, California
Establish a system of oversight at headquarters and at each adult correctional facility to ensure that personnel specialists are charging the correct number of leave hours for those nonmanagerial, exempt employees working an alternate work schedule.
Response
Correctional Health Services reported that it implemented monthly internal audits to ensure the accuracy of all information within the State's leave accounting system. It also reported that since March 2015, it has found 2,749 mischarged leave hours. Of these mischarged hours, 2,469 hours, valued at $177,959, should have been charged to Correctional Health Services employees but were not. The remaining 280 hours, valued at $14,660, were leave hours that Correctional Health Services previously incorrectly charged to employees.
- California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
- Completion Date: October 2015
- Response Date: October 2015
Recommendation To: Correctional Health Care Services, California
Establish a system of supervisory oversight that involves reviewing employees' time sheets and leave balances to ensure that personnel specialists are entering information into the leave accounting system correctly.
Response
Correctional Health Services reported that its human resources division implemented a supervisory review that includes monitoring of all transactions keyed into the State's leave accounting system. In addition, Correctional Health Services implemented a process to ensure that a human resources supervisor is informed of any discrepancies discovered in the monthly internal audits and that all corrections are keyed into the leave accounting system.
- California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
- Completion Date: October 2015
- Response Date: October 2015
Recommendation To: Correctional Health Care Services, California
Establish a system for correcting mischarged leave in the leave accounting system and for reviewing errors with the responsible employee whenever mischarged leave hours are discovered.
Response
Correctional Health Services reported that after completing the monthly internal audits, its human resources staff met to discuss the audit results and errors. In addition, it stated that human resources staff have provided one-on-one discussions and on-the-job training to the staff responsible for mischarged leave to mitigate the risk of future errors.
- California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
- Completion Date: October 2015
- Response Date: October 2015
Recommendation To: Corrections and Rehabilitation, Department of
Conduct an audit of the leave accounting system during the past three years to identify instances of nonmanagerial, exempt employees working an alternate schedule at an adult correctional facility being charged incorrect amounts of leave for missed days of work.
Response
Corrections reported that it has reviewed the leave records for 742 of 1,019 nonmanagerial, exempt employees who worked an alternate work schedule during calendar years 2011, 2012, and 2013. Corrections stated that thus far, it found that the employees owed leave time to it valued at $1.7 million and found that it owed leave time to the employees valued at nearly $1.1 million. Corrections also stated that it will review the leave records of the remaining 277 nonmanagerial, exempt employees.
- California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
- Estimated Completion Date: 01/30/16
- Response Date: October 2015
Recommendation To: Corrections and Rehabilitation, Department of
Adjust current employees' leave balances in the leave accounting system to correct any improper charging of leave identified by the audit.
Response
Corrections reported that it will adjust current employees' leave balances by the end of March 2016 to correct any improper charging of leave identified by its three-year audit. Its audit has already identified leave time with a net value of $678,000 that needs to be adjusted.
- California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
- Estimated Completion Date: 03/30/16
- Response Date: October 2015
Recommendation To: Corrections and Rehabilitation, Department of
In instances where the audit has determined that an employee's leave balance was mischarged but the employee subsequently departed state service, take appropriate measures to remedy any resulting incorrect compensation of the employee for unused leave upon his or her departure, including by seeking repayment of any amount overpaid to the employee.
Response
Corrections reported it had determined that in error it notified one former employee of an overpayment. Thus, it stated that it will use experienced personnel staff to ensure the accuracy of its audit of leave accounting. Corrections also stated that by May 30, 2016, it will fully implement this recommendation by seeking repayment of any funds that it overpaid to employees who have left state service.
- California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
- Estimated Completion Date: 05/30/16
- Response Date: October 2015