The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) botched the operation of its Voluntary Leave Bank Program, making federal investigators question the program’s solvency and integrity, the EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG) reported Monday.
The Voluntary Leave Bank Program sets up an exchange where employees store unused leave time to give to others who need extra for medical reasons, or take medical leave themselves in the same circumstance, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
The EPA’s version of the program was mismanaged and vulnerable to fraud, according to the OIG report.
“The EPA did not adequately manage the Voluntary Leave Bank Program to assess the solvency or efficiency of the program, adequately safeguard personal employee information, or minimize the potential for misuse,” the OIG report said.
“The EPA did not routinely monitor the bank balance [of leave hours stored and demanded] or the bank’s solvency,” the OIG report continued. “Also, the Leave Bank Board did not routinely assess and verify medical certifications to approve an application and determine how many hours should be provided.”
The OIG placed blame for the bungled Voluntary Leave Bank Program on the EPA Office of Administration and Resource Management. The agency department was responsible for developing and implementing “policies and procedures to administer the leave bank,” but did so poorly.
To fix the problem, the OIG recommended six different corrective actions be taken, of which the EPA has already taken three. The EPA has developed an OIG approved plan for the three actions left to be taken.
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