Office of Inspector General

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

At a Glance

22-P-0019
March 7, 2022

Why We Did This Audit

The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency's Office of
Inspector General conducted this
follow-up audit to determine
whether the EPA's corrective
actions effectively addressed the
weaknesses identified in EPA
OIG Report No. 16-P-0333.
Enhanced Controls Needed to
Prevent Further Abuse of
Religious Compensatory Time,
issued September 27, 2016.

Report No. 16-P-0333 contained
four recommendations:

•	Recommendations 1, 2,
and 3 were issued to the
assistant administrator for
Administration and
Resources Management.
The Office of Administration
and Resources Management
was merged into the Office
of Mission Support in
November 2018.

•	Recommendation 4, which
was issued to the chief
financial officer, is no longer
applicable due to regulatory
changes and is, therefore,
not addressed in this
follow-up report.

This audit supports an EPA
mission-related effort:

•	Operating efficiently and
effectively.

This audit addresses a top EPA
management challenge:

•	Managing infrastructure funding
and business operations.

Address inquiries to our public
affairs office at (202) 566-2391 or
OIG WEBCOMMENTS@epa.gov.

List of OIG reports.

EPA Needs to Complete Implementation
of Religious Compensatory Time Training
for Supervisors and Employees

Providing training on religious
compensatory time to all EPA
supervisors and employees would
decrease the potential for
employee misuse, as well as the
Agency's monetary liability.

What We Found

The EPA's Office of Human Resources,
within the Office of Mission Support, took
corrective actions to address
Recommendations 1, 2, and 3 issued in
OIG Report No. 16-P-0333. The Agency
completed corrective actions for
Recommendations 1 and 2 that met the

intent of those recommendations. However, although the Agency agreed with
Recommendation 3, the related corrective action that the Agency certified as
complete did not fully implement the recommendation. Specifically, training was
provided to the EPA's human resources community, but it was not provided to
all employees who use Religious Compensatory Time and all supervisors who
approve such time, as recommended.

We reviewed ten employees' use of Religious Compensatory Time, and we
noted instances in which employees and supervisors did not comply with EPA
policy. EPA employees' and supervisors' lack of adherence to the policy was
caused by the Office of Human Resources not fully implementing the corrective
action for Recommendation 3.

Without receiving proper training, employees and supervisors may lack an
understanding of the policy, requirements, and responsibilities related to the
use and approval of Religious Compensatory Time, which could result in
misuse or abuse of the authority and create an unplanned monetary liability for
the EPA. As of November 2021, the EPA had an unplanned liability of $54,787
for the balance of religious compensatory hours earned and carried by
employees.

Recommendation and Planned Agency Corrective Action

We recommend that the assistant administrator for Mission Support require the
Office of Human Resources to train all employees and supervisors who earn,
use, or approve Religious Compensatory Time on the U.S. Office of Personnel
Management's current regulatory requirements for, and the EPA's current
policy and procedures related to, Religious Compensatory Time.

The Agency agreed with our recommendation and provided an acceptable
planned corrective action and estimated completion date. The recommendation
is resolved with corrective action pending.

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