Controller: Fox29 Exposed Worker Issues

PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia City Controller Alan Butkovitz said on Wednesday that a Fox 29 investigation led the city to confirm our findings of potential workplace time abuse.

Our investigative stories aired in September 2011 and October 2011 .

"In response to a local FOX TV investigation that alleged Philadelphia Free Library maintenance employees were working on projects unrelated to their jobs during assigned work hours, City Controller Alan Butkovitz today released the results of his own investigation and an expanded audit of the Library's building maintenance operations," the city controller said in a statement.

Butkovitz' own investigative report found "significant opportunities existed for maintenance employees to fraudulently report their work locations as well as their work time."

Butkovitz said his staff used information from Fox 29's investigation that found "library maintenance employees engaged in activities unrelated to their jobs while in active city pay status. The Controller’s staff selected a test date to account for a painter who was identified in the [Fox 29] investigative report."

“While Library management assigned the job to the painter, there was no indication as to how many hours were needed to complete the repair work,” said Butkovitz. “Additionally, Library management had no system for documenting whether the work was actually completed or not - and there was no evidence that spot checks were performed by supervisors.”

“This maintenance worker was allowed to cheat the city by earning pay that he did not deserve, and it was pay that he should have never received,” said Butkovitz.

Butkovitz also found two employees who got $17,500 in stand-by pay from July 1, 2010 to September 30, 2011 even though the City’s Civil Service Regulations prohibit the allowance of this pay category to Library employees.

He said stand-by time is only allowed for employees who remain available for work if an emergency occurs during their non-scheduled work hours.

“It’s completely unacceptable for a City department to operate under its own rules and not abide by the City’s regulations,” said Butkovitz. “Library management needs to cease paying ineligible employees for stand-by duty immediately.”

To view a copy of the City Controller's report, please visit the Controller's website at www.philadelphiacontroller.org