Audit Report on the Payroll, Timekeeping Procedures, and Other Than Personal Services Expenditures of the Office of Collective Bargaining

AUDIT REPORT IN BRIEF

The Office of Collective Bargaining, an independent non-mayoral agency, was established in 1967 by the New York City Collective Bargaining Local Law (Chapter 3 of Title 12 of the Administrative Code) and implemented by Executive Order 52. The Office of Collective Bargaining provides for the certification of collective bargaining representatives, acts as a mediator and arbitrator in resolving labor-relations disputes and controversies between the City and its employees, and interprets the City collective bargaining law.

Apart from the minor timekeeping exceptions noted in this report, the Office of Collective Bargaining generally adhered to applicable policies and guidelines for purchasing, payroll, and timekeeping.

The minor exceptions noted included 23 instances totaling 50 hours and 35 minutes in which the appropriate time for hours not worked was not deducted from the leave balances of five employees, which consisted of: 42 hours and 25 minutes in time not worked; 6 hours and 30 minutes in leave time used but not charged; and one hour and 40 minutes in lateness not deducted. In addition, none of the Employee Time Reports (ETRs) reviewed during our three-month sample period contained appropriate approvals. Lastly, five employees in 16 instances indicated that "no lunch" was taken on their timesheets. Section 162 of the New York State Labor Law states that "every person in any establishment or occupation covered by the Labor Law must be afforded a meal period of at least thirty minutes."

We recommend that the Office of Collective Bargaining ensure that all time records are properly reviewed for accuracy; appropriate adjustments are made to employee leave balances based on the audit findings; all ETRs contain appropriate signatures indicating that they have been reviewed and approved; employees take the required meal period; and all time leave and lateness be properly recorded in the City Payroll Management System.

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