Audit: IDOT Failed To Keep Track Of Employee Pay
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CBS) -- The Illinois Department of Transportation didn't keep adequate track of employee pay during the 2010 fiscal year, and the agency is keeping quiet about what's being done to fix the problem.
An state audit prepared by the auditor general found the department paid employees a little more than $33 million in overtime during Fiscal Year 2010 (July 1, 2009 – June 30, 2010), but didn't provide proper documentation to justify some of it.
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The audit tested 15 employees, and found some were paid undocumented overtime, too much overtime, or were paid overtime for seemingly no reason at all. Spokesman Josh Kauffman says it's being handled, but he won't say how.
"The department takes all findings very seriously, and is taking immediate action to address the topics in question," Kauffman said in a prepared statement.
The audit also found supervisors were not approving some employee timesheets, and were not keeping adequate track of employee attendance – both of which were first reported in 2007.
The Better Government Association has taken notice of the findings, and it's not pleased. Policy and government affairs coordinator Emily Miller says she, as a taxpayer, wants to know what IDOT is doing to make sure this doesn't happen again.
"I want to know what it is that they were following when these mistakes were happening, so that we can make sure those are different from the policies they embrace moving forward," says Miller.
According to the audit, some sign-in sheets and time cards couldn't be located for employees tested, some time cards did not match up to when the employee actually arrived at or left work, and some employees did not properly document vacation time. One employee tested was granted 385 hours of overtime over three months, but did not document any of it.
