Senator, U.S. Special Counsel Call for DHS Overtime Abuse Investigation
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) should investigate “widespread and systemic abuse” of overtime payments at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), said Senator Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., in a Nov. 1 letter to GAO Comptroller General Gene Dodaro (here). The abuse may be responsible for double such payments, considered Administratively Uncontrollable Overtime (AUO), for Customs Border Protection (CBP) personnel since DHS officials began investigations into the abuse in 2008, said Shaheen. Shaheen demanded GAO officials investigate the following:
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- How much money did DHS spend under the Administratively Uncontrollable Overtime pay authority in each of fiscal years 2008 through 2013?
- Of those payments, how much AUO was claimed by employees detailed to headquarters or training facilities?
- How much AUO was claimed by employees engaged primarily in administrative and managerial functions?
- Are there verified instances of DHS agency recruitment efforts specifying that prospective hires can rely on routine overtime pay in addition to their salary?
- What managerial controls are in place to certify that work performed during AUO periods was justified?
- Does DHS have any collective bargaining obligations that could complicate the implementation of agency-wide directive to eliminate the inappropriate use of AUO?
- Are there any statistical patterns in AUO claims department-wide that indicate AUO has been inappropriately used by particular agencies or their components?
The U.S. Special Counsel on Oct. 31 also submitted a report to President Barack Obama, detailing the abuse and pointing out CBP as a primary culprit. “The report confirms that employees in the Commissioner's Situation Room (Situation Room), an office' within Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in Washington, D.C., violate the federal AUO regulation by claiming two hours of AUO pay nearly every day,” said an accompanying letter (here). “The report also confirms that the Situation Room Director and Assistant Director ‘authorize and abet’ the improper use of AUO.”