The city of Denver has received a call to action after an audit spearheaded by Denver Auditor Timothy M. O'Brien exposed systematic delays and the absence of a transparent process in employee payout procedures upon termination, as reported by the city's official website. The audit, determined to shed light on the efficiency and accuracy of the city's fiscal responsibilities towards its employees, has unleashed concerns about the welfare of workers and the stewardship of taxpayer dollars.
O'Brien articulated the city's obligation stating, "When an employee leaves the city, they are entitled to the pay they earned," emphasizing the duty owed to both departing employees and taxpayers, as per Denver Auditor's Office. Throughout 2021 to 2023 there were over 10,000 separations but delayed payouts were not uncommon, for the uninitiated, this includes retirement, resignation, dismissals, and even the passing of employees, and though the city aims to complete payouts in an ambitious two to three weeks, the Office of Human Resources ops for a 60-day timeline meanwhile the reports suggest it took longer than that for nearly a quarter of cases.
The financial implications of this lag are substantive, with the average payout for more than 4,000 reviewed cases being approximately $10,300 before deductions, amounting to over $41 million in total. Yet, it's the procedural inadequacies that O'Brien highlights as the crux of the issue. Without formal policies and consistent data tracking, Denver risks causing undue stress to its workforce along with the potential miscalculation of owed amounts, an especially poignant point during system outages like the one experienced with the ransomware attack on Kronos in late 2021 and early 2022, where leave balance accessibility vanished for months.
In response, the city's Payroll Division has invoked the drafting of a continuity plan as a salve to mitigate future incidents yet it is pegged for completion by year's end, leaving room for continuity of concern among the employees and stakeholders, the plan is expected to provide a comprehensive approach to preventing discrepancies and bolstering policy during technological disruptions. Disparities also became apparent in areas where collective bargaining agreements situate workers on a different plane, such as police and fire departments, where conflicting records on sick and vacation time between varying timekeeping systems were uncovered, thus jeopardizing the integrity of employee payouts.
Completing the bevy of recommendations, O'Brien noted the necessity for improved equipment recovery policies. Since the city's Technology Services Department has taken the reins in retrieving computers post-employment, it is hoped that inventory tracking will tighten. "Old computers still have value to the city, both due to the cost of replacing the equipment and because old computers could still be used in a limited capacity or donated to those in need," said Auditor O'Brien, per Denver Auditor's Office. Denver's Department of Finance has expressed its intent to implement all 17 recommendations put forward by the audit.
