Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance

Internal Controls Over Employee Time and Attendance

We examined controls over employee time and attendance practices at the Albany-area offices of the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA). Our audit was prompted by a series of observations made by our audit staff, who noticed that an individual subsequently identified as an OTDA employee was repeatedly sunbathing during working hours on the roof of a nearby building. After we brought this matter to the attention of OTDA officials, the employee was fined by OTDA as part of a termination settlement and a number of corrective actions were taken by OTDA officials to prevent future such incidents. We later initiated an audit of OTDA to determine whether the corrective actions were adequate. We found that internal controls over the agency’s time and attendance practices had been strengthened, but additional improvements were still needed.

For a complete copy of Report 2004-S-35 click here.
For a copy of the 90-day response click here.