Purpose

To determine whether Unified Court System (UCS) employees who are dually employed at other State agencies are working their required hours at each job. The audit covered the period April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2012.

Background

UCS' mission is to promote the rule of law and to serve the public by providing just and timely resolution of all matters before the courts. UCS is comprised of several program components, including Supreme and County courts, Family Courts, Surrogate's Court, and City and District courts. UCS includes the Office of Court Administration (OCA), which is the administrative arm of UCS, under the direction of the Chief Administrative Judge. UCS employs about 17,936 individuals throughout the State, some of whom are also employed by other government agencies. Regulations promulgated by UCS require non-judicial employees to obtain in writing prior to engaging in any outside employment. Such employment may not interfere with the employee's job responsibilities or represent a conflict of interest.

Key Findings

• Between April 2010 and March 2012, seven UCS/OCA employees were dually employed and obtained at least $40,000 in combined pay. Follow-up showed two of these staff had conflicting work schedules, resulting in payroll payments of at least $17,336 for time not worked during the audit period.
• Another UCS employee who received a salary, and was under contract with UCS to provide legal services, reported nine occasions where the hours worked conflicted.
• The two cases included patterns of claiming to be working two places at the same time or not allowing sufficient commute time between the end of one shift and the beginning of the next with another employer. Failure to enforce time and attendance requirements allowed these individuals to circumvent controls, sometimes with management's knowledge.

Key Recommendations

• The Inspector General of UCS should investigate the cases we identified and take appropriate actions as warranted, such as recovery of salary payments and adjustment of service credits for pension purposes.
• Provide pertinent time and attendance training to dually employed staff and their supervisors, and ensure that required policies and procedures are followed.
• Develop a standardized writing that can be submitted to the Chief Administrator of the Courts to ensure employees do not engage in outside work without the previous consent in writing.

Other Related Audits/Reports of Interest

Metropolitan Transportation Authority/Metro-North Railroad: Forensic Audit of Select Payroll and Overtime Practices and Related Transactions (2010-S-60)
Office of Court Administration: Controls Over Overtime Costs (2011-S-2)