FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 26, 2015

Contacts: Lowell Goodman lowell.goodman@lacity.org 323.646.3249 Kyle Hall kyle.hall@lacity.org 408.836.3219

Controllers Audit Reveals Staggering Overtime at DOT

Los Angeles Controller Ron Galperin released an audit report detailing exceptionally high overtime use in the Department of Transportations Traffic Paint and Sign section.

After receiving an anonymous tip to the Controllers Fraud Waste & Abuse Hotline, Galperins staff used data analysis to identify four supervisors in the Traffic Paint and Sign Section who received at least $70,000 in overtime pay during FY 2013-14. One traffic marking and sign superintendent received $155,319 in overtime on top of his normal $78,000 yearly earningseffectively tripling his salary.

When the Controllers audit staff began asking questions of the highest overtime earners in the Traffic Paint and Sign Section, overtime among them dropped by about 40%to levels where it remains today. Galperin and DOT leadership believe the decline stems from better controls and as word spread among employees that overtime was being closely monitored.

This report should put everyone on notice, said Controller Galperin. We are watching overtime and we will not permit it to be abused.

The Controller began his investigation after his Fraud, Waste and Abuse Unit received a tip alleging employees in the Departments Traffic Paint and Sign section were claiming overtime for hours they did not work. Employees in the section paint street markings and post street signs after the Bureau of Street Services resurfaces or repaves streets.

In FY 2013-14, 93% of Traffic Paint and Sign employees received overtime. Citywide, among full-time employees excluding LAPD, LAFD and DOT, the number was 49%.

Among the other findings: Super-human work schedules: One employee was paid for 261 hours during a

two-week period. He claimed to work 10 18-hour days and 4 days of at least 16 hours.

Doing the jobs of two full-timers: 30 out of 67 Traffic Paint and Sign employees, including supervisors, claimed more than 1,000 hours of overtime in FY 2013-14; seven of the 30 claimed to work at least 2,000 hours of overtime. (A full-time employee is paid for 2,080 hours per year. 2,000 hours of overtime in a year equates to, on average, working more than 38 hours of overtime every week of the year. An employee who does this is constantly working double shifts, doing the job of two full-timers.)

The Tab: Traffic Paint and Sign employee overtime cost the City $3.3 million dollars in FY 2013-14. The average overtime pay for each Traffic Paint and Sign employee was $48,100, compared to $8,377 for other departments, excluding LAPD, LAFD and DOT.

After looking at the Traffic Paint and Sign section, Galperins staff audited overtime practices throughout the DOT, which were determined to be out of line with the rest of the City. As a percentage of salary costs, the DOT pays more overtime than any other department except the Fire Department. The cost of paid overtime at the DOT has more than doubled since FY 2009-10 to $14.6 million in FY 2013-14. Paid overtime accounts for 12% of DOT salariescompared to 5.6% at LAPD and 4.7% at other civilian departments.

All told, were looking at spiraling costs and a climate that practically invites abuse, said Galperin. I urge DOT leadership to remain watchful and determine whether additional staffing might be more cost-effective than overtime.

The Controllers audit of the DOT examined the period from FY 2011-12 to FY 2013-14, before Seleta Reynolds took over as General Manager. In the Departments response to the audit, Ms. Reynolds indicated her administration has reviewed and accepted the audit and recommendations.

Thank you to Controller Ron Galperin and his staff for their assistance, said Reynolds. We have begun to put into action the audit's recommendations: to strengthen our overtime policies to eliminate confusion; to create an online overtime request and approval system; and to right-size our overtime budget to meet expected day-to-day operational labor costs required to keep our streets safe. Integrity and accountability are core values in our Strategic Plan, and we intend to meet the public's expectation for delivering service in a fiscally responsible way.

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