Report I2016-1 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 I2016-1: Investigations of Improper Activities by State Agencies and Employees: Misuse of State Resources, Forgery, False Time Reporting, Financial Interests Disclosure Violations, and Waste of State Funds (Release Date: February 2016)

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Recommendations for Case I2013-1633
Department: Developmental Services, Department of
Number Recommendation Status
21

Developmental Services should immediately conduct an audit of the leave accounting system from July 2015 through December 2015 to identify instances in which Porterville charged exempt represented employees working alternative schedules the incorrect number of leave hours for missed days of work.

Resolved
22

Developmental Services should adjust current employees' leave balances in the leave accounting system to correct any leave not properly charged as identified by this report and by the audit it conducts.

Resolved
23

By March 1, 2016, Developmental Services should take steps to work with unit 19 to change Developmental Services' current practice and require exempt represented employees to charge leave in accordance with the number of hours they are regularly scheduled to work.

Fully Implemented
24

Revise its established timekeeping audit procedures to ensure that exempt represented employees correctly charge leave according to the number of hours they are regularly scheduled to work.

Fully Implemented
25

Developmental Services should train its personnel staff at headquarters and all developmental centers regarding the new policy and accompanying procedures.

Fully Implemented
Recommendations for Case I2014-0078
Department: Health Care Services, Department of
Number Recommendation Status
5

To ensure the analyst does not continue to misuse state resources, Health Care Services should take appropriate corrective or disciplinary action for her misuse of her state computer and email for personal purposes.

Fully Implemented
Recommendations for Case I2014-0430
Department: State Hospitals, Department of
Number Recommendation Status
17

State Hospitals should create a policy requiring the facility's filing official to be appropriately trained in the collection of Form 700s. In particular, this training should cover the identification of designated individuals and the requirement to collect a Form 700 upon individuals assuming designated positions, annually thereafter, and upon their leaving their designated positions.

Fully Implemented
18

State Hospitals should conduct a review of the facility's 2014 Form 700s by April 2016 to ensure that all designated filers submitted a Form 700.

Fully Implemented
19

State Hospitals should require all designated filers—including those working in an acting capacity in a designated position—to take the statutorily mandated state ethics training online created by the Attorney General's Office, which includes information related to the Form 700 and its disclosure and filing requirements.

Fully Implemented
20

State Hospitals should ensure that the psychiatrist discloses past financial interests to the FPPC for the time he acted as the medical director that he did not disclose previously.

Fully Implemented
Recommendations for Case I2014-0948
Department: State Hospitals, Department of
Number Recommendation Status
26

State Hospitals should take appropriate action to address the insufficient hours worked by the four psychiatrists and their dishonesty by April 1, 2016.

Fully Implemented
27

State Hospitals should determine whether other psychiatrists or other staff consistently work less than an average of 40 hours and take appropriate disciplinary and corrective action where needed.

Fully Implemented
28

State Hospitals should ensure that by March 1, 2016, all exempt employees understand the requirement to work an average of 40 hours per week over the course of a year and to seek prior approval for arriving late, leaving early, or taking an extended break.

Fully Implemented
29

State Hospitals should create and implement a system that will allow supervisors to adequately assess the hours worked by psychiatrists and other exempt employees.

Fully Implemented
30

State Hospitals should provide training and coaching to supervisors and management regarding how to hold psychiatrists and other exempt employees accountable for their hours worked and how to pursue disciplinary action if necessary.

Fully Implemented
31

State Hospitals should provide formal guidance about state laws and departmental policies relevant to misuse of state resources and incompatible activities to staff at Patton and at other State Hospitals facilities by March 1, 2016.

Fully Implemented
32

State Hospitals should seek to persuade the State to enter into collective bargaining agreements that provide for time monitoring to ensure that the State obtains full value from its employees exempt from FLSA requirements.

Resolved
Recommendations for Case I2014-0970
Department: Fish and Wildlife, Department of
Number Recommendation Status
2

Fish and Wildlife should take appropriate corrective or disciplinary action against the employee for his improper governmental activities, including reducing the employee's leave balance by 14 hours to account for the two days he did not work and did not attend the retirement fair.

Resolved
3

Fish and Wildlife should recover $323 related to the employee's inappropriate reimbursement and misuse of state resources.

Fully Implemented
4

Fish and Wildlife should, in the future, require its employees to provide proof of their presence when attending trainings or business-related events on state time.

Resolved
Recommendations for Case I2014-1285
Department: General Services, Department of
Number Recommendation Status
15

General Services should immediately revise the statewide policy contained in State Administrative Manual section 4100 so that state agencies are no longer required to use only General Services' vehicle rental services.

Fully Implemented
16

General Services should notify CalRecycle and all other state agencies that it has revised the requirement in State Administrative Manual section 4100.

Fully Implemented
Recommendations for Case I2014-1576
Department: Water Resources, Department of
Number Recommendation Status
6

Water Resources should provide training to all officials who approve training requests regarding the difference between training categories, the maximum calendar year reimbursement limitations for each category, and the required documentation to support expense claims, including proof of attendance.

Fully Implemented
7

Water Resources should amend the training request form and the training plan form to require that approving officials include written justification for the selected training category.

Fully Implemented
8

Water Resources should amend the training request form to require that division chiefs or higher level executives provide written justification for their approval of reimbursements beyond the maximum $2,000 per year amount allowed for job-related training.

Fully Implemented
9

Water Resources should provide training to all training coordinators regarding their responsibility to track each employee's total calendar year reimbursement for each training category other than job-required training.

Fully Implemented
10

Water Resources should require division chiefs and the training chief to review and approve training requests for all job-required and job-related training.

Resolved
11

Water Resources should require the last official who approves an employee's expense claim for job-required and job-related training to forward that claim to the training division, the division of fiscal services, or both, for a separate review of the employee's training forms and supporting documents before Water Resources reimburses the employee.

Fully Implemented
Recommendations for Case I2015-0084
Department: Correctional Health Care Services, California
Number Recommendation Status
12

Correctional Health Care should work, as necessary, with the state agency that currently employs the supervising nurse to require him either to correct his 2014 time sheets by using earned leave for the 14 workdays when he improperly claimed military leave or to pay the State $5,988 for the leave he improperly claimed on the 14 workdays.

Fully Implemented
13

Correctional Health Care should work with the state agency that currently employs the supervising nurse to coordinate the appropriate disciplinary action to address the supervising nurse's improper activities, including his forging of documents and his dishonesty.

Resolved
14

Correctional Health Care should notify the proper military officials regarding the supervising nurse's creation of falsified and forged military documents.

Fully Implemented
Recommendations for Case I2015-0478
Department: Public Health, Department of
Number Recommendation Status
1

To ensure the supervisor does not misuse state time, Public Health should take appropriate corrective or disciplinary action against him for leaving during the middle of his shift without approval.

Fully Implemented


Print all recommendations and responses.