Image Copyright Sever Oprisan, 2013.
Used under license from Shutterstock.com
The Department of Correction gave inmates paid holidays until auditors questioned the practice 18 months ago.
According to a June 20 report by the Auditors of Pubic Accounts, the department unit charged with employing and training inmates had a tradition of paying prisoners for state holidays because they were “expected to process a full week of orders in just four of five days due to the holiday shut down.”
The department stopping paying inmates on their days off in December 2011 at the request of auditors, who found the practice inconsistent with the agency’s policies.
Separately, the report also noted a number of problems with department employees using sick time, family sick time and full-day medical appointments in conjunction with scheduled days off, weekends and holidays.
“We noted three employees bypassed agency limits on multiple occasions, two employees continuously charged sick leave on days immediately preceding or following scheduled days off, and one employee’s sick leave indicated a sustained pattern of absence,” the auditors said in their report.