CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A legislative audit presented to state lawmakers Sunday at their interim committee meetings at the state capitol raised questions about wages and benefits in the state Court of Claims.
The audit, which won’t be fully completed until September, showed three court workers received a total of nearly $9,000 for days that “were neither worked or leave submitted,” the audit said.
There were 32 days in question for one employee, nearly 25 for another and seven days for a third. A fourth worker did not submit the proper paperwork for nearly 21 days for leave but had the sufficient leave time, according to the audit.
Court of Claims Clerk Cheryl Hall told lawmakers Sunday some of the problems pointed out in the audit had already been dealt with but she needed more time to review the audit report.
State Senate President Bill Cole (R-Mercer) and House of Delegates Speaker Tim Armstead (R-Kanawha) released a joint statement concerning the audit Sunday evening.
“While the complete audit of ongoing leave issues in the Court of Claims will not be finalized until September, and the Court of Claims will be afforded the opportunity to respond, the serious nature of the issues raised requires our immediate attention. We have been diligently reviewing this matter from the moment it came to our attention, we have taken swift action, and will continue to take all appropriate actions going forward to ensure that the law is followed, and that taxpayer funds are properly accounted for,” the statement said.
The Court of Claims is a legislative agency.
Interim committee meetings will continue Monday at the state capitol.