An audit at Utah State University Eastern uncovered an employee who was paid for two years that he did not actually work.
The university allegedly paid the employee, who oversaw the local Custom Fit and Small Business Development Center programs, $157,470 in salary and benefits for no work performed from the summer of 2021 to the fall of 2023.
The employee allegedly did not submit a request for sick or vacation time, but simply failed to show up to work. His manager did not record the absences.
According to the information contained in the audit, the employee's absence was repeatedly reported by others, but three university administrators ignored the reports because they were friends with the employee. The administrators, including an associate department head who lived with the employee, allegedly covered for him so that he could keep getting paid.
The auditors also found "a culture of favoritism and inappropriate workplace reporting chains"; "shoddy" accounting practices; and human resources policies that had not been updated since 1999.
The auditors recommended that the university update its "nepotism and cronyism policy" using Utah's code for state employees as a model and require that the manager "accurately report employee absences" and follow up each month with human resources to make sure they are properly recorded, among other measures.
A spokesperson for the university said it has already completed some of the recommendations, including rewriting its family and relatives policy, and will address the others, including oversight of employees and enforcement of policies. Courtney Tanner "5 fixes Utah State University will make after damning audit showed employee paid for 2 years he didn't work" www.sltrib.com (Jul. 2, 2024).
Commentary
"Ghost employees" are employees on paper, but not in substance. They exist to receive a wage for no work, a form of fraud. The employee in the above matter qualifies as a "ghost".
In this matter, the motive for the fraud appears to be from favoritism – allowing a favored employee to draw two years of salary for nothing.
Favoritism led to fraud in the above matter, but can also lead to turnover, lower productivity, and litigation.
