Auditor: State workers used state time, computers for personal gain
SEATTLE -- Several state workers habitually tended to personal affairs while on the clock, including planning a wedding, trading stocks and even running a private business.
A new report by the state auditor details waste at state agencies, which cost some workers their jobs and led to a computer crackdown.
State employees use computers and phones to conduct their business, but they're not supposed to use that equipment or their work time for anything personal.
"State law's pretty clear. You cannot use public resources - and that's going to be time, money or equipment - for personal use," said state auditor Brian Sonntag.
A whistleblower prompted the auditor to launch his investigation. An employee in the Office of Minority and Women's Business Enterprise was accused of trading stocks at work. The employee visited E*TRADE, NASDAQ and personal banking sites more than 650 times, according to the audit.
Witnesses told investigators they had seen this go on for years, even after an earlier reprimand. The employee hired an attorney who told the state his client would not cooperate with investigators.
And there are other cases. A Department of Labor and Industries worker resigned after the auditor's office found 400 personal e-mails that showed he conducted business for a nonprofit group on state's time.
And a whistleblower accused an IT specialist in the Department of Personnel of running his business from his state computer. A check of that computer revealed more than one thousand files and images supporting the claim that he used his state computer to maintain websites for his personal photography business and a local dance studio. The investigation also showed that he made more than one thousand phone calls that had nothing to do with state business.
"(We found) people running small businesses on their state-owned computer," Sonntag said. "And that's flat-out wrong."
The employee first denied the allegations but later admitted it, claiming he received no financial gain from the time he used at work. The employee then resigned.
"It was easier to resign than get fired," Sonntag said.
The auditor also found evidence that showed an employee of the Department of Social and Health Services planned her wedding, engaged in social networking, even filed her taxes, all while on state time and a state computer. That department is now using Internet-blocking programs which prevent employees from accessing non-state related websites.
"That's a good thing to use, because that's going to prevent these problems from even popping up," said Sonntag.
Sonntag says the state loses out all the way around, losing productivity when workers conduct personal business on state time.
A new report by the state auditor details waste at state agencies, which cost some workers their jobs and led to a computer crackdown.
State employees use computers and phones to conduct their business, but they're not supposed to use that equipment or their work time for anything personal.
"State law's pretty clear. You cannot use public resources - and that's going to be time, money or equipment - for personal use," said state auditor Brian Sonntag.
A whistleblower prompted the auditor to launch his investigation. An employee in the Office of Minority and Women's Business Enterprise was accused of trading stocks at work. The employee visited E*TRADE, NASDAQ and personal banking sites more than 650 times, according to the audit.
Witnesses told investigators they had seen this go on for years, even after an earlier reprimand. The employee hired an attorney who told the state his client would not cooperate with investigators.
And there are other cases. A Department of Labor and Industries worker resigned after the auditor's office found 400 personal e-mails that showed he conducted business for a nonprofit group on state's time.
And a whistleblower accused an IT specialist in the Department of Personnel of running his business from his state computer. A check of that computer revealed more than one thousand files and images supporting the claim that he used his state computer to maintain websites for his personal photography business and a local dance studio. The investigation also showed that he made more than one thousand phone calls that had nothing to do with state business.
"(We found) people running small businesses on their state-owned computer," Sonntag said. "And that's flat-out wrong."
The employee first denied the allegations but later admitted it, claiming he received no financial gain from the time he used at work. The employee then resigned.
"It was easier to resign than get fired," Sonntag said.
The auditor also found evidence that showed an employee of the Department of Social and Health Services planned her wedding, engaged in social networking, even filed her taxes, all while on state time and a state computer. That department is now using Internet-blocking programs which prevent employees from accessing non-state related websites.
"That's a good thing to use, because that's going to prevent these problems from even popping up," said Sonntag.
Sonntag says the state loses out all the way around, losing productivity when workers conduct personal business on state time.
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