You might already be aware of the risks of excessive overtime on employee health and overall productivity. Then there's employee overtime that seems unreasonable. On its face, these are overtime hours that should not pass any smell test and they usually result from a combination of timesheet fraud, poor time tracking and monitoring systems.

LADOT Audit Uncovers Millions in Overtime

In May 2015, the office of Los Angeles City Controller Ron Galperin released the shocking findings of its audit of the L.A. Department of Transportation (LADOT). The audit was triggered by an anonymous tip alleging overtime abuse.

Focusing on the LADOT’s paint and sign division, the audit found “staggering” amounts of overtime that ultimately cost the city $3.3 million in a single fiscal year. The LADOT paid out more over time in 2013-2014 than any other city department, with the exception of the Fire Department.

1. Payroll Manager Uses ‘Ghost Workers’ to Embezzle $480,000

We've written a couple of posts about fraud as it relates to timesheets and overtime pay. This one is about what happens when management level employees, like a payroll manager embezzle money.

Grady Memorial is the largest hospital in Georgia and the main public hospital for the city of Atlanta. It employs about 5,000 people, so that is a considerable payroll to manage. The thing is, a former director of payroll did a little more than manage it. He was convicted of embezzling $480,000 from the hospital. For several years, he oversaw payroll for all employees and he knew the internal payroll system well. With his administrative system access he also falsified vacation and severance pay records for employees that had been terminated.