The Office of Special Counsel (OPC) is taking a long, hard look at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Whistleblowers have come forward with allegations that DHS employees routinely abused overtime in at least six different locations. News reports cite a letter to the President from OPC dated Oct. 31.
The multi-page letter from Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner spell out allegations that Administratively Uncontrollable Overtime (AUO) was routinely used by DHS employees as a supplement to their salary and not for “irregular” or “occasional” circumstances, such that failure to stay on duty “would constitute negligence.” Six whistleblowers brought these claims to the OPC, and the Counsel has determined that one allegation is accurate. The agency is waiting for information in the other five cases.
The OPC believes that up to $9 million in overtime annually was claimed by DHS employees contrary to regulations governing the use of AUO, a press release from the agency states. The letter to the President details an on-going misuse of AUO among personnel in the Situation Room of the Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection. The director and assistant director authorized and abetted the practice of employees claiming two hours of AUO some 89 percent of the time, despite no compelling law enforcement reason for the overtime.
The other five cases that continue to be investigated are:
- the CBP Office of Training and Development in Glynco, GA
- the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services headquarters Office of Security and Integrity (OSI) in Washington, D.C.
- the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Houston, TX
- CBP facility in San Ysidro, CA
- CPB facility in Laredo, TX
The Situation Room case is hardly the most egregious of the claimed abuses. The OSI allegation is that in 2010 everyone in the office claimed ten hours of AUO weekly, without regard to actual time worked. The whistleblower there alleges that they asked to be exempted from this practice but were told no, that it would draw unwanted attention.
It appears that some areas within DHS have used AUO merely as additional compensation and not to pay employees for duties provided for within the program. Indeed, it appears that some cases involve outright fraud by employees as they may have worked no overtime but claimed the AUO hours. Those supervisors in the chain of payroll and timesheet approvals may also be complicit in this systematic abuse.
