Report I2009-0640 Recommendations

To address the false claims for overtime and differential work hours submitted by Technician A and approved by his supervisor, we recommend that Caltrans seek $6,834 in reimbursement from Technician A for the overtime and pay differential payments that he received improperly. (See I2009-0640 ,p. 23)

To address the false claims for overtime and differential work hours submitted by Technician B and approved by his supervisor, we recommend that Caltrans seek $6,954 in reimbursement from Technician B for the overtime and pay differential payments that he received improperly. (See I2009-0640 ,p. 23)

To address the false claims for overtime and differential work hours submitted by technicians A and B and approved by their supervisor, we recommend that Caltrans establish a system to enforce the requirement that specific overtime hours be preapproved for an employee to be compensated for the hours. (See I2009-0640, p. 23)

To address the false claims for overtime and differential work hours submitted by technicians A and B and approved by their supervisor, we recommend that Caltrans reinforce with Caltrans supervisors that they have a duty to verify that overtime and specially compensated work actually has been performed prior to authorizing payment for the work. (See I2009-0640, p. 23)

To address the false claims for overtime and differential work hours submitted by technicians A and B and approved by their supervisor, we recommend that Caltrans require the hours of overtime and differential work claimed by an employee to be matched with specific projects before they are approved for payment to help ensure that the hours claimed are legitimate. (See I2009-0640, p. 23)

To address the lack of controls that allowed the falsification of gamma gamma logging testing data by Technician A and the engineer, we recommend that Caltrans require that Foundation Testing Branch technicians submit to an engineer both the raw data file and log ASCII data file for every gamma gamma logging test performed for a project to help ensure that testing data has not been falsified. (See I2009-0640, p. 24)

To address the lack of controls that allowed the falsification of gamma gamma logging testing data by Technician A and the engineer, we recommend that Caltrans implement the recommendations of the GAMDAT peer reviewers intended to improve the gamma gamma logging testing procedures of the Foundation Testing Branch. (See I2009-0640, p. 24)

To address the lack of controls that allowed the falsification of gamma gamma logging testing data by Technician A and the engineer, we recommend that Caltrans implement any recommendations made by the GAMDAT team intended to strengthen the integrity of the gamma gamma logging testing performed by the Foundation Testing Branch. (See I2009-0640, p. 24)

To address the lack of controls that allowed the falsification of gamma gamma logging testing data by Technician A and the engineer, we recommend that Caltrans implement a policy to ensure that engineers perform analyses on properly collected data and do not misrepresent gamma gamma logging test results. (See I2009-0640, p. 24)

To address the misappropriation of state property by the supervisor, we recommend that Caltrans obtain an estimate of the value of the materials the supervisor removed from Caltrans facilities and placed on his property (aside from the steel beams) as well as the value of the state employee time spent refashioning and transporting those materials. (See I2009-0640, p. 24)

To address the misappropriation of state property by the supervisor, we recommend that Caltrans seek reimbursement from the supervisor for the $2,000 cost of transporting the steel beams that he placed on his land back to a Caltrans facility. (See I2009-0640, p. 24)

To address the misappropriation of state property by the supervisor, we recommend that Caltrans seek reimbursement from the supervisor for the cost of the Caltrans materials (aside from the steel beams) that he transported to his land and the cost of the state employee time spent transporting and refashioning those materials. (See I2009-0640, p. 24)

To address the misappropriation of state property by the supervisor, we recommend that Caltrans establish controls to ensure that materials intended for a construction project are tracked properly, and that when materials intended for a federal highway project are not used for the project, the materials are reused for other federal projects or returned to the Highway Administration. (See I2009-0640, p. 24)

To address the misappropriation of state property by the supervisor, we recommend that Caltrans establish controls to ensure that scrap materials are recycled and not taken for personal use by Caltrans employees. (See I2009-0640, p. 24)