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U.S. Environmental Protection EPA
Office of Inspector General
At a Glance
15-B-0075
February 4, 2015
Why We Did This Review
On April 9, 2014, a member of
the U.S. Senate requested the
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency's (EPA's) Office of
Inspector General (OIG) to
provide clarification on the
process used to determine and
track overtime compensation
for EPA employees. The
Senator requested that the
OIG examine whether the
agency: (1) properly
documents how overtime is
distributed and identify the
process that is used, (2) has a
specific breakdown of activities
for employees who received
overtime during the last 2 fiscal
years, and (3) has an effective
means to ensure employees
are not compensated overtime
for travel. As part of our
agency audit, we conducted an
audit of the OIG's compliance
with applicable overtime
policies.
This report addresses the
following OIG goal:
• To be responsible
stewards of taxpayer
dollars.
Send all inquiries to our public
affairs office at (202) 566-2391
or visit www.epa.gov/oiq.
The full report is at:
www.epa.aov/oia/reports/2015/
20150204-15-B-0075.pdf
EPA OIG Not Fully Compliant With
Overtime Policies
What We Found
The OIG did not always use the EPA Form
2560-7, Request for Authorization of
Overtime Work, for overtime requests and
authorization as required by EPA Pay
Administration Manual 3155. Also, the OIG
did not always comply with the OIG Policy
323, Time and Attendance Reporting Policy,
pertaining to the use of the planned
timesheet for the advance approval of
overtime. This occurred because:
•	Management did not provide oversight to ensure compliance with
policies pertaining to the authorization of overtime.
•	OIG policies were not clear on the use of the EPA authorization
form for overtime requests versus the use of the planned
timesheets for advance approval of overtime.
•	There was no oversight or emphasis by management to ensure
planned timesheets were submitted and approved in advance.
Also, the OIG did not retain the EPA authorization forms supporting the
overtime requests.
As a result of the issues noted, the OIG may have incurred overtime
charges without proper authorization, may have made after-the-fact
approvals, and did not comply with records management requirements.
Recommendations and Planned Corrective Actions
We recommend that the Deputy Inspector General: (1) revise OIG policy
to clarify EPA overtime authorization requirements and appropriate
levels of approval and stipulate use of EPA Form 2560-7 for overtime
requests; and (2) inform management and employees of the
requirement to comply with EPA overtime policies, use EPA Form
2560-7, obtain advance approval for scheduling of overtime hours in the
planned timesheet, and retain supporting documents as required by OIG
and EPA records management policies. The Deputy Inspector General
agreed with our recommendations and provided corrective actions and
planned completion dates to address all recommendations.
The OIG may have
incurred overtime
charges without
proper authorization
and advance approval,
and did not maintain
overtime authorization
forms as required.

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