OIG Letter on New Hampshire timekeeping fraud
October 15, 2009
The Honorable Paul Hodes
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Attention: Sarah Levin
Dear Mr. Hodes:
We received your May 21 letter on behalf of the New Hampshire branch of the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC). They alleged manipulation of the Time and Attendance Collection System (TACS) by management at the Milford Post Office, Manchester South Station, and Manchester West Station. Specifically, they alleged postal management altered electronic timecards to avoid paying NALC carriers overtime and to falsify the reporting of work hour usage at these facilities.
As background, TACS is the timekeeping system used by the Postal Service to record employees’ work time and to ensure proper payment. TACS also manages budgeted work hours for each facility. Employees are assigned an individual identification card, bearing a magnetic stripe encoded with their personal information. Employees use their cards at an Electronic Badge Reader (EBR). The employees enter the type of clock ring and operation number, if applicable, and then slide their cards through the EBR. This produces a record of the date, time, type of clock ring, and the operation number to TACS.
Every week, postal managers reconcile and download TACS data to the Accounting Service Center (ASC) in Minnesota, which collates this information and uses it to generate employee paychecks. Managers have manual access to the TACS in order to approve overtime and correct timekeeping errors before the information is downloaded to the ASC. Manual access to TACS is individually password protected. When a postal manager makes a manual change, TACS records the nature of the change, the date, time, and the Employee Identification Number of the person making the change.
We conducted an investigation, which included interviews and a review of records and documents. We concluded that management at the Milford Post Office made manual entries to change employees’ clock rings for the period of December 14, 2002, through December 19, 2008. These changes resulted in the removal of straight time, overtime, night differential, and penalty overtime causing, employees to be underpaid. Additionally, we found an apparent flaw in the way that TACS handles hours worked by clerks who also perform carrier work for part of their day. This flaw causes an unintentional loss of pay to employees. We forwarded our findings to postal management for action they deem appropriate.
We concluded that manual entries to change employees’ clock rings were made by management to TACS at the Manchester South Station for the period of December 22, 2007, through June 26, 2009, and at the Manchester West Station for the period of December 23, 2006, through June 26, 2009. These changes resulted in the removal of night differential and overtime causing employees to be underpaid. We forwarded our findings to postal management for action they deem appropriate.
After we began our investigation, we widened our scope to include two other nearby locations, specifically the Somersworth Post Office and the Salem Post Office. Our investigation concluded that at the Somersworth Post Office for the period of the December 22, 2007, through June 12, 2009, and at the Salem Post Office for the period December 22, 2007, through July 1, 2009, manual entries were made to TACS. Management changed employees Move clock rings from one operation number to another, which caused work hours to be posted to operations employees apparently did not perform. These changes resulted in misstatements of budgeted work hour activity at the facilities. These findings were also forwarded to postal management for action.
If you or your staff have any questions related to your inquiry, please contact Betsy Cuthbertson in our Congressional Response unit at (703) 248-2270.
Sincerely,
Lance Carrington
Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Investigations
October 18th, 2009 13:09
The easiest way to curtail the practice of shaving time from employees is to give employees real time access to their clock rings. That increases the chance of detection and stopping it.
October 18th, 2009 13:35
thank you congressman hodes!!!! now how about investigating every post office??????
October 18th, 2009 13:57
We forwarded our findings to postal management for action they deem appropriate. ##
Sure, let those who authorized the “shaving” of clock rings (stealing=theft=firing) determine discipline of those who were told to shave time??? Are you kidding. Just fire those who did this. If it were craft employees who stole even a penney, they would be fired, why not management??
October 18th, 2009 13:59
It should be easy to check every office in the country to check for “shavings”. Computers should be able to pop up indications of manual time changes. Do this, and remove a few thousand managers…that would save alot of money. But, also, give back what the workers should have been paid, too.
October 18th, 2009 20:25
Just goes to show there are bad apples in management as in craft! Plenty of craft have taken time not earned as well. Like 75% of city carriers! Rural routes can deliver 700 plus boxes going 60 plus miles in less then eight and we still have city that can not walk off more then 400 deliveries.
October 18th, 2009 23:52
hmmm walking on a city route, compared to driving on a rural route…. yeah that’s a good comparison…..
October 19th, 2009 05:31
once reported faulty time keeping practice to the OIG, they did nothing, however did tell management that it had been reported. make no mistake, the OIG is as culpable as the managers that still time
October 19th, 2009 08:55
I would like to know if these people were being paid during the OIG investigation ???? MANY carriers and clerks have been put off work in an ‘emergency placement’ status ( without pay) while the OIG conducts their investigation. For months at a time. That would be interesting to know. Why do managers receive preferintial treatment as opposed to craft.
October 24th, 2009 13:10
It sounds like OIG is a huge waste of money. Findings were forwarded to the fox guarding the chicken coop. This is ridiculous beyond belief.