A Report on State Agency Administration of Emergency and Administrative Leave
November 2016
Report Number 17-702
Overall Conclusion
The State Auditor's Office surveyed 86 state agencies to identify the leave accounting systems they use and to determine how they administer and report emergency and administrative leave. The State Auditor's Office could not determine the total amount of emergency and administrative leave that surveyed state agencies used during the time period covered by the survey because some state agencies could not determine the total amount of emergency and administrative leave used and the number of employees who used the leave. In addition, state agencies used inconsistent categories to record that leave. However, results of the survey highlighted several important aspects of state agencies’ administration of employee emergency and administrative leave. Specifically:
- State agencies use inconsistent leave accounting codes, which hinders statewide analysis of leave data.
- State agencies use multiple leave accounting systems to account for emergency and administrative leave, which limits reporting into a statewide leave accounting system maintained by the Office of the Comptroller of Public Accounts (Comptroller’s Office).
- State agencies have made varying interpretations of statutory authority for granting emergency leave for good cause.
- State agencies have granted administrative leave for reasons other than outstanding performance.
- State agencies have made varying interpretations of the administrative leave balances that employees can accumulate and retain.