Homeland Security workers routinely boost pay with unearned overtime, report says

Federal employees at the Department of Homeland Security call it the “candy bowl,” a pot of overtime money they have long dipped into to pad their pay even if they haven’t earned it, whistleblowers say.

This practice, which can add up to 25 percent to a paycheck, has become so routine over the last generation that it’s often held out as a perk when government managers try to recruit new employees, according to these accounts.

In a report submitted to the White House and Congress on Thursday, the federal Office of Special Counsel (OSC) details what it calls a “profound and entrenched problem” at DHS and a “gross waste of government funds.” Based on the testimony of seven whistleblowers, the OSC concludes that the pervasive misuse of overtime pay in six DHS offices, including four within Customs and Border Protection (CBP), comes to $8.7 million a year.

At issue is Administratively Uncontrollable Overtime, known as AUO, which is meant only to compensate for urgent and unanticipated work like that often undertaken by law enforcement agents.

But Carolyn Lerner, special counsel at the OSC, an investigative and prosecutorial agency, said in an interview that many employees across DHS now consider the overtime pay their due. She said the whistleblowers’ testimony suggests that the department’s bill for these improper payments is running in the tens of millions of dollars a year.

Via: Washington Post

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GSA Employee Suspended for Campaigning for Obama While on Duty

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) announced Friday the suspensions of two federal employees, including one from the troubled General Services Administration (GSA), for campaigning for President Obama from their offices.

In a press release, the OSC said a contracting officer from the GSA invited 23 people to an Obama fundraiser during the 2007-2008 campaign cycle from her government office while on duty. She also distributed Obama campaign material in the workplace and sent an email from her government account supporting his campaign.

The GSA, which oversees the business of federal spending, is still reeling from a stinging Inspector General report released earlier this year that detailed, among other things, a $1 million taxpayer-funded Las Vegas event.

The suspended GSA employee's alleged actions would violate the Hatch Act, which restricts the political activity of individuals employed or holding office in the executive branch of the federal government.

She has agreed to serve a 30-day suspension without pay.

A GSA spokeswoman said the agency supports the "aggressive action to ensure that all federal employees are adhering to the requirements of the Hatch Act." She noted employees "receive mandatory ethics training and weekly reminders about the need to comply with the Hatch Act."

The OSC also announced that a technology specialist for the Social Security Administration volunteered for a gubernatorial candidate's 2010 campaign. While on duty and in his federal office, the employee, "spent a significant amount of time coordinating volunteer efforts for the campaign" according to the OSC release. His activities included recruiting precinct captains, enlisting people to march in parades, organizing the distribution of yard signs and bumper stickers, and advising volunteers on how to host campaign events. The release said he invited over 50 people to the event and asked individuals to contribute $250 each. The employee will be suspended for 180 days without pay.

Via: Fox News