Auditor: Woman took state wages while working elsewhere
SEATTLE -- A Department of Social and Health Services worker has been double-dipping in two jobs, potentially costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, the state auditor has found.
Washington State Auditor Brian Sonntag says the worker routinely collected two paychecks for just a single day's work for at least the past six years.
"People know what's right and wrong, and people know better than to do this kind of thing," said Sonntag.
The employee was hired to help people with developmental disabilities. But the auditor says the woman, after her morning check-in with supervisors, left to work at another job at a nonprofit group instead of going to meet her state clients.
Last year, a whistleblower reported the double-dipping to the State Auditor's Office.
"That's the kind of thing that I think a payroll system, that kind of monitoring would pick up, should pick up, but didn't," said Sonntag.
The state employee worked both jobs for 14 years, but state records only go back six. The state auditor found in that time, the worker received nearly $155,000 in salary, benefits and travel costs from the nonprofit group.
What's more, much of this woman's salary came from the federal government, and DSHS may have to reimburse the feds as much as $382,000 because it can't find her signed time sheets.
"My concern is that this may not be an isolated instance," Sonntag said. "If one person is doing this kind of thing here, you know, are you going to check other programs?"
DSHS says it has implemented new controls to better monitor workers, and has turned the case over to the State Attorney General's Office to try and recover the money and to possibly file criminal charges.
The worker refused to comment on the story; however, in the wake of the investigation, she resigned from her state job and was fired by her employer in the nonprofit sector.
Washington State Auditor Brian Sonntag says the worker routinely collected two paychecks for just a single day's work for at least the past six years.
"People know what's right and wrong, and people know better than to do this kind of thing," said Sonntag.
The employee was hired to help people with developmental disabilities. But the auditor says the woman, after her morning check-in with supervisors, left to work at another job at a nonprofit group instead of going to meet her state clients.
Last year, a whistleblower reported the double-dipping to the State Auditor's Office.
"That's the kind of thing that I think a payroll system, that kind of monitoring would pick up, should pick up, but didn't," said Sonntag.
The state employee worked both jobs for 14 years, but state records only go back six. The state auditor found in that time, the worker received nearly $155,000 in salary, benefits and travel costs from the nonprofit group.
What's more, much of this woman's salary came from the federal government, and DSHS may have to reimburse the feds as much as $382,000 because it can't find her signed time sheets.
"My concern is that this may not be an isolated instance," Sonntag said. "If one person is doing this kind of thing here, you know, are you going to check other programs?"
DSHS says it has implemented new controls to better monitor workers, and has turned the case over to the State Attorney General's Office to try and recover the money and to possibly file criminal charges.
The worker refused to comment on the story; however, in the wake of the investigation, she resigned from her state job and was fired by her employer in the nonprofit sector.