Cal Parks used obscure payroll codes to turn vacation time into overtime pay

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Cal Parks used obscure payroll codes to turn vacation time into overtime pay

#CAparks officials apparently used 'Katrina' code in vacation cashout

California parks officials apparently used obscure payroll codes intended for emergencies such as wildfires and disasters like Hurricane Katrina , the State Controller's Office testified Wednesday.

State managers are generally not allowed to earn overtime, and California's payroll system is designed to block them from receiving it, said John Hiber, chief operating officer with the Controller's Office, at a Senate oversight hearing.

But the system has codes that managers can enter for overtime in rare cases such as Cal Fire employees fighting wildfires or emergency workers providing relief in natural disasters as they did in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina.

"It appears that because those codes exist that this wasn't picked up (and) that those codes were manipulated to allow this to occur," Hiber testified.

"Someone knew what he or she was doing," observed Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, chairman of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee.
"Correct, correct," Hiber said. "And there appears to be collusion here as well. So we're in the process of evaluating those codes as they were used and changing the procedures to eliminate this practice from occurring at all in the future."

The Bee reported last month that 56 Department of Parks and Recreation employees inappropriately sold unused vacation time back to the state for more than $271,000. Because the practice was unauthorized, employees submitted buyout requests on Post-It notes in 2011 rather than official forms, according to a department audit. The money was paid as overtime.

Hiber said the state has a decentralized payroll system that puts each department in charge of itsemployee compensation.

Three parks department executives were disciplined this month because they "manipulated the system" or gave "recklessly flawed advice," according to formal actions imposed by the department.

Source: Sacramento Bee Article - http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2012/08/ca-parks-officials-apparently-used-katrina-code-in-vacation-cashout.html /capitolalertlatest/2012/08/ca-parks-officials-apparently-used-katrina-code-in-vacation-cashout.html

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Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

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Wednesday, August 15, 2012