The IG’s office at EPA looked inward as part of broader investigations into agency hiring, time and attendance recording and overtime policies, finding problems in all those areas.
It found that IG employees did not comply with the official internal system for recording time and attendance called IGEMS, including approval for leave and premium pay and other compensation. Some employees did not submit or have approved planned or actual timesheets as required, it said, citing as one reason that “employees and managers do not view IGEMS time reporting as a high priority.” Without those records, though, there is no way to verify that data in the payroll system are accurate, the report said.
Similarly, it said that employees did not always follow the required process for overtime requests and did not always comply with policy on advance approval of overtime—and further, management “did not provide oversight to ensure compliance” with those policies.
It also found that while IG guidance makes the selecting official responsible for ensuring that references are checked prior to making final selections and for maintaining all documentation used for selection, there is no assurance that the verifications are performed and documentation is consistently maintained. “Without verification of prior employment or references for eligible job candidates, the potential exists that the OIG will not hire the best possible candidate, or hire a job applicant based on misleading information,” it said.
The reports said management agreed with the recommendations and is moving to carry them out.
The reports are here: http://www.epa.gov/oig/reports
