WSDOT uncovered unearned overtime scam in its office

The Washington Department of Transportation just announced that an internal audit shows that an employee charged some $67,000 of unearned overtime over the last two years.

The employee admitted that she’d filled in overtime she didn’t work over the past two years. She then quit — or she would have been fired.

“We work hard to be highly accountable in our use of taxpayer’s dollars. We are disappointed in our employee’s actions and have taken steps to ensure this kind of abuse won’t happen again,” said Steve Reinmuth, WSDOT’s Chief of Staff.

The State Auditor’s Office, in its annual WSDOT audit, said in March that there was cause for concern that 71 employees without timekeeping responsibilities could access and update hours in the payroll system. Because of the finding, WSDOT’s system is being upgraded so that unauthorized updates will no longer be allowed.

Tags: overtime fraud, WSDOT