GAO Investigates Handling of Time and Attendance Misconduct in Federal Agencies

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report last month in which they investigated the prevalence of time and attendance misconduct and fraud within federal agencies. The report describes what is known about the extent of time and attendance misconduct and potential fraud across the 24 agencies using reporting controls and technologies under the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 (CFO Act) to monitor employee time and attendance.

This report was requested by a bipartisan group of leaders in Congress including Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

GAO reported in 2018 that, on average, less than 1 percent of the federal workforce each year was formally disciplined for misconduct, of which time and attendance misconduct is a subcomponent. Overall, of the 24 agencies covered by the CFO Act, most agency reviews reported the risk of payroll and attendance fraud to be generally low.

The August 2020 report found that there were only 100 allegations of time and attendance abuse in the past five years, from 2015-2019.

GAO noted that different agencies track misconduct in different ways. Two agencies began tracking misconduct data in 2020 so did not have data to contribute to the report. Nine of the remaining 22 agencies compiled data on all misconduct cases related to time and attendance. For example, the Department of Transportation reported data on cases of tardiness, excessive absences, absence without leave, failure to follow time and attendance policy, and failure to accurately report time and attendance.

Meanwhile, eight of 22 agencies compiled data on a subset of time and attendance misconduct more narrowly focused on potential fraud.

Five of 22 agencies compiled a mix of data, with some agency components compiling all time and attendance-related misconduct data and others compiling a subset of data that focused on potential fraud. For example, the Department of the Treasury compiled separate data for five of its components. Two Treasury components compiled data on all time and attendance misconduct, and three components compiled data on only those time and attendance misconduct cases that related to potential fraud.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) had incomplete data because they did not compile data from fiscal years 2015 to 2019.

Managers and executives in government can also use technology to keep track of misconduct within their agencies. For example, the use of video surveillance to ensure an employee was in the office at their designated time as well as surveying employee email and phone records to ensure they are completing their tasks.

According to GAO data from agencies and inspectors general, first-line supervisors maintain the primary responsibility for monitoring employee time and attendance. Additional internal controls include policies, procedures, guidance, and training. Agencies also reported using controls built into their timekeeping system to provide reasonable assurance that time and attendance information is recorded completely and accurately.

For instance, the Department of Justice (DOJ) reported that it conducts periodic leave audits to ensure proper leave administration. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) runs reports on employees who hold significant advance leave balances because this tends to be a good indicator of future time and attendance problems.

GAO maintains that evaluating agency misconduct is essential to the proper functioning of the federal workforce.