The District of Columbia Department of Employment Services violated its overtime policy by paying employees for OT that was not authorized, according to a report from the D.C. Auditor’s Office.
The D.C. Department of Employment Services violated its overtime policy by paying employees for OT that was not authorized, according to a report from the D.C. Auditor’s Office.
DC Auditor Kathy Patterson investigated a whistleblower’s allegation of possible losses, fraud and abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“You’ll recall that the unemployment insurance program was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, with so many people out of work,” Patterson said. “So what we were looking at was an agency under stress, at a very stressful time.
The pandemic caused a huge influx of unemployment claims, which required employees within the DOES Office of Unemployment Compensation to work overtime.
Patterson said the audit found the office’s overtime costs increased from $115,991 in fiscal year 2019 to $1.98 million in fiscal year 2021.
The auditor’s report found no fraud.
“What we found was that not all of the overtime work had proper prior authorization and some of it had no documentation,” Patterson said. “So even though someone might have worked that overtime (because it was necessary to complete the agency’s work) it wasn’t documented.”
Patterson said much of the agency’s system was paper-based. One recommendation was that DOES use the electronic overtime request and approval system integrated into the PeopleSoft software the District uses for its personnel time management system.
“So I can put in an overtime request, and you can see it at your desk — maybe you’re working at home that day — you can see it and approve it electronically,” Patterson said.
Patterson said DOES agreed with the audit’s findings and recommendations.
“I want to emphasize that this was a very rough time frame for the agency, and they have some corrective actions in place … and the recommendations that we make, they’re basically working on them, already.”
In written comments to the auditor, DOES Director Unique Morris-Hughes cited the “unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic” and said the agency “has worked diligently to address all concerns raised as a result of the pandemic.”
She said the agency is now conducting monthly overtime audits to identify trends and recently updated its overtime policy to require employees who file overtime claims to also provide documentation to substantiate the work and hours they worked. performed.
WTOP’s Mike Murillo and Jack Moore contributed to this report.
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