Report I2015-1 Recommendations
After the State Auditor's Office completes an investigation and issues a copy of its investigative report to the state department involved, the department is required by the Whistleblower Protection Act to provide the State Auditor with information about the actions it has taken in response to the report. Within 60 days of receiving the report, the department must report to the State Auditor any disciplinary action it has taken or intends to take against any employee who was a subject of the investigation. Also within 60 days, the department must report to the State Auditor any actions it has taken or intends to take to implement the recommendations made in the report to prevent the continuation or recurrence of the improper activities described in the report. When the department has not completed all of its intended actions within 60 days, the department must report on its actions monthly thereafter until all of its intended actions have been taken. Below is a listing of each recommendation the State Auditor made in the report referenced, as well as a link to a summary of what the department has reported to the State Auditor about its actions in response to the report. Information about the department’s responsive actions and the State Auditor’s assessment of those actions will be updated on this site quarterly.
Recommendations in Report I2015-1: Investigations of Improper Activities by State Agencies and Employees (Release Date: August 2015)
Recommendations for Case I2012-1250 Department: Industrial Relations, Department of | ||
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Number | Recommendation | Status |
22 | To alert future state employers to the supervisor's improper activities, Industrial Relations should determine what documentation, if any, it should place in the supervisor's personnel file indicating that he resigned while under investigation. The improper activities substantiated by this investigation include misusing state-compensated time and state email account to coordinate the sale of copied movies and music, sending sexually suggestive emails during his work hours, and misusing a state printer to print materials for a co-worker's fitness studio. |
Fully Implemented |
33 | To ensure that employees limit their personal use of state resources to minimal and incidental use, Industrial Relations should remind employees of the prohibitions against misusing state resources, including time, email, and office space. |
Fully Implemented |
Recommendations for Case I2012-1655 Department: Transportation, Department of | ||
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Number | Recommendation | Status |
8 | Take the appropriate disciplinary action to address Supervisor A's neglect of duty. |
Resolved |
9 | Provide appropriate counseling and training to the district staff management involved so that they are aware of the proper procedures of maintaining daily reports and recording, reviewing, and approving accurate time sheets. |
Fully Implemented |
Recommendations for Case I2012-2137 Department: Employment Development Department | ||
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Number | Recommendation | Status |
21 | To ensure state departments that are considering whether to hire the accounting officer are aware of her improper activities, including using state equipment and materials to type and print a large volume of personal documents, and using her position to improperly access the department's database, the Employment Development Department should determine what documentation, if any, it should place in the accounting officer's personnel file to indicate that she resigned while under investigation. |
Fully Implemented |
Recommendations for Case I2013-0082 Department: Employment Development Department | ||
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Number | Recommendation | Status |
27 | The Employment Development Department should pursue appropriate disciplinary action against the employee to ensure that she discontinues misusing public resources. |
Fully Implemented |
Recommendations for Case I2013-0440 Department: Correctional Health Care Services, California | ||
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Number | Recommendation | Status |
28 | Correctional Health Care should develop a process to ensure that it uses master agreements to procure only goods and services that are within the scope of those agreements. |
Fully Implemented |
29 | Correctional Health Care should ensure that it or its contractor submits to the Department of Technology (Technology) all projects that require Technology's review. |
Fully Implemented |
30 | Correctional Health Care should ensure that it has received all of the goods and services for which it already paid the contractor, or for which it has been invoiced to pay by the contractor. |
Fully Implemented |
31 | Correctional Health Care should provide appropriate counseling and training to the staff and officials involved in project procurements so they are aware of the proper procedures for contracting and for reviewing and approving invoices, including ensuring that all goods and services have been received prior to paying contractors. |
Fully Implemented |
32 | Correctional Health Care should consider whether any disciplinary action is warranted. |
Resolved |
Recommendations for Case I2013-1902 Department: Forestry and Fire Protection, Department of | ||
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Number | Recommendation | Status |
23 | Take disciplinary action against the senior personnel specialist to ensure that she fully and accurately accounts for her time. |
Fully Implemented |
24 | Recover $848 for the 32 hours of leave the senior personnel specialist did not use for being late during the period of investigation. |
Fully Implemented |
25 | Require the supervisor to provide the senior personnel specialist with a formal annual performance evaluation so that both parties understand office expectations for arriving to work on time and reporting absences and tardiness. |
Fully Implemented |
26 | Take disciplinary action against the supervisor to ensure that he properly supervises his employees and ensures they are fully and accurately accounting for their time. |
Fully Implemented |
Recommendations for Case I2014-1011 Departments: Correctional Health Care Services, California; Corrections and Rehabilitation, Department of | ||
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Number | Recommendation | Status |
10 | To recoup the payment and leave accumulations to which its employees were not entitled, Corrections and Correctional Health Care should reduce the accumulated leave balances of Employee A by 886 hours. If his accumulated leave balances are not sufficient, offset any remaining hours against future accumulations of leave. |
Resolved |
11 | To recoup the payment and leave accumulations to which its employees were not entitled, Corrections and Correctional Health Care should reduce the accumulated leave balances of Employee A by 886 hours. If his accumulated leave balances are not sufficient, offset any remaining hours against future accumulations of leave. |
Fully Implemented |
12 | To recoup the payment and leave accumulations to which its employees were not entitled, Corrections and Correctional Health Care should work with the California Public Employees' Retirement System and attempt to recoup the $22,766 in CTO leave hours Employee B—who retired in April 2015—cashed out but to which he was not entitled. |
Resolved |
13 | To recoup the payment and leave accumulations to which its employees were not entitled, Corrections and Correctional Health Care should work with the California Public Employees' Retirement System and attempt to recoup the $22,766 in CTO leave hours Employee B—who retired in April 2015—cashed out but to which he was not entitled. |
Fully Implemented |
14 | To recoup the payment and leave accumulations to which its employees were not entitled, Corrections and Correctional Health Care should reduce the accumulated leave balances of Employee C by 261 hours. If his accumulated leave balances are not sufficient, offset any remaining hours against future accumulations of leave. |
Resolved |
15 | To recoup the payment and leave accumulations to which its employees were not entitled, Corrections and Correctional Health Care should reduce the accumulated leave balances of Employee C by 261 hours. If his accumulated leave balances are not sufficient, offset any remaining hours against future accumulations of leave. |
Resolved |
16 | Corrections and Correctional Health Care should develop a policy requiring all labor relations analysts, including the labor relations analyst at Prison 1, to document any communications from the Office of Labor Relations at Corrections that affect employee compensation. |
Resolved |
17 | Corrections and Correctional Health Care should develop a policy requiring all labor relations analysts, including the labor relations analyst at Prison 1, to document any communications from the Office of Labor Relations at Corrections that affect employee compensation. |
Fully Implemented |
18 | Corrections and Correctional Health Care should run a query of exempt positions related to the chief psychologist classification, such as clinical psychologists and senior psychologists, to determine whether any other exempt employees were improperly credited or paid for on-call or call-back assignments prior to December 2014, and seek recovery through reducing those employees' accumulated leave balances. |
Fully Implemented |
19 | Corrections and Correctional Health Care should run a query of exempt positions related to the chief psychologist classification, such as clinical psychologists and senior psychologists, to determine whether any other exempt employees were improperly credited or paid for on-call or call-back assignments prior to December 2014, and seek recovery through reducing those employees' accumulated leave balances. |
Resolved |
Recommendations for Case I2014-1398 Department: Water Resources, Department of | ||
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Number | Recommendation | Status |
1 | Train the division chief, maintenance manager, administrative manager, and business services supervisor regarding the proper procedures for disposing of state-owned surplus property and for handling recycling proceeds. |
Fully Implemented |
2 | Establish a policy requiring valuable surplus property that will be recycled to be set apart and separately weighed to maximize the recycling proceeds. |
Fully Implemented |
3 | Develop an internal control process to ensure that each field division properly documents, tracks, safeguards, and promptly deposits all checks received into Water Resources' accounts. |
Fully Implemented |
Recommendations for Case I2014-1440 Department: Transportation, Department of | ||
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Number | Recommendation | Status |
4 | To remedy the effects of the improper governmental activity substantiated in this report and to prevent it from recurring, Caltrans should continue its efforts to recover the undercharged rent from the telecommunications companies. |
Resolved |
5 | To remedy the effects of the improper governmental activity substantiated in this report and to prevent it from recurring, Caltrans should ensure that accounting records accurately reflect the funds received and owed to Caltrans from the telecommunications companies. |
Fully Implemented |
6 | To remedy the effects of the improper governmental activity substantiated in this report and to prevent it from recurring, Caltrans should establish a process and train the two District 4 right-of-way agents to ensure that they consistently adjust rental rates in accordance with license provisions. The process should include a method to calculate and notify each telecommunications company of its annual rental rate before the payment is due on July 1 of each year. |
Fully Implemented |
7 | To remedy the effects of the improper governmental activity substantiated in this report and to prevent it from recurring, Caltrans should provide sufficient training to the supervisor in District 4 to ensure that he has a necessary understanding of the license provisions and process so he can provide adequate oversight to the program's right-of-way agents. |
Fully Implemented |
Recommendations for Case I2015-0384 Department: Veterans Affairs, Department of | ||
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Number | Recommendation | Status |
20 | To recoup some of the wasted funds the Chula Vista Veterans Home spent on purchasing the boom lift, the Department of Veterans Affairs should determine the boom lift's present-day value and consider either selling or auctioning it. |
Resolved |