CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state Division of Highways has not been in compliance with state personnel rules having to do with overtime payments to employees during workweeks that also included annual and sick leave hours, the state Legislative Auditor concluded.
Auditors determined that DOH was improperly compensated about 1,950 employees for annual and sick leave during the 17-month period from July 1, 2016 through November 30, 2017.
That totaled more than $432,000.
The payments were the result of workweeks that included the use of sick and annual leave hours that, when combined with the employees’ work hours during the period, caused the total hours to exceed 40 for the workweek.
MORE: Read the Highways audit
Division of Personnel policy states that sick and/or annual leave requested in the same workweek in which additional hours are worked should be reduced and credited back to the employee’s accrued balances to reduce or avoid payment for hours in excess of the agency work schedule.
The Legislative Auditor concluded DOH did not follow the procedures.
“Rather, DOH paid out the leave hours as extra compensation at the employee’s regular hourly rate,” the Legislative Auditor staff wrote.
Members of the Post Audits committee, made up of leadership from both legislative houses, listened to the report on Sunday afternoon.
Carla Rotsch, business manager for the state Department of Transportation, said the agency agrees with the findings.
“We do agree our policy needs revision,” Rotsch said. “There are a few factors that has prevented us from doing so. Some of that is technical limitations.”