‘An anomaly?’: State workers’ salaries under investigation top $2.6 million this year, up 60%

Since the start of 2020, taxpayers have funded more than $9 million in wages for state employees on paid leave while they are under investigation for alleged misconduct, state records show.

And as of Dec. 12, the cost of paid investigative leave has increased 60% this year, from $1.64 million in 2023 to $2.62 million, according to records from the Vermont Department of Human Resources, which obtained through a public records request. More than half of all people on investigative leave are employees of the state Department of Justice.

“We really hope that the number we see in 2024 is not the trend going forward,” Human Resources Commissioner Beth Fastiggi said in an interview. “This year is definitely – hopefully – an anomaly.”

A person may be placed on paid leave if they are accused of violating the state’s employment regulations, such as harassment or discrimination. About half of misconduct investigations result in a temporary paid exemption from duty, according to state data.

Paid investigative leave for state employees has drawn the attention of the press and investigators in the past, including State Auditor Doug Hoffer.

“Not only do you incur costs, but you also put a strain on your colleagues who have to step in for you because you are not there,” said Hoffer, describing the problems that arise from extended paid vacation. While wages paid by the state total more than $2.6 million this year, benefits like health care add significantly to the overall cost.

The data suggests that many investigations find that the allegations are unfounded and very few result in termination. But the total number of paid medical leave hours — more than 86,000 as of mid-December, or about 16 weeks per employee on medical leave — suggests that employees regularly spend months getting paid to sit at home.

Hoffer’s office examined paid leave for state employees about eight years ago as part of a misconduct investigation. He said he was disappointed that there appeared to be little legislative interest in addressing the phenomenon since then.

“To be honest, I found it frustrating that the Legislature didn’t seem to be particularly interested,” he said.

A temporary exemption from duty can end in different ways. An employee may be reprimanded or suspended. They could reach a negotiated agreement with the state. Or, as has been the case in several cases in recent years, the investigation could reveal that the alleged misconduct is unfounded.

Fastiggi said she has never seen her department conduct as many investigations as it has this year. Part of the increase is due to a June 2023 policy change that expanded the types of incidents supervisors must report related to harassment and discrimination to include all forms of suspected misconduct.

The data shows that the total number of misconduct investigations – not all of which result in paid leave – has increased steadily since 2020, but has increased at an even faster rate since June 2023, after human resources policies were updated.

The personnel investigation includes interviews with witnesses, the complainant and the person who allegedly committed the misconduct, Fastiggi said. Employees review emails and other documents and then prepare a report with recommendations. Ultimately, the agency or department’s “appointing authority” – a commissioner, secretary, or their designee – decides how or whether to reprimand an employee.

The state’s human resources department has a six-person investigative team with about 30 “field staff” who can also assist with misconduct investigations, according to Fastiggi.

If serious disciplinary action is being considered – demotion, suspension or termination – the employee will receive written notice and an opportunity to meet with the appointing authority of their department or agency. Employees also have the opportunity to complain about their punishments and, ultimately, cases can be filed with the Vermont Labor Relations Board.

Human Resources Department data suggests that the increase in the cost of paid leave is due to the length of leave rather than the number of employees on leave, although both have increased.

The Department of Corrections continues to have the highest number of furloughed employees and the highest overall costs, with 73 employees at various times this year. That’s 7.9% of the department’s total workforce, and their investigative leave pay cost more than $1.35 million as of Dec. 12.

The Vermont Veterans Home, which has had 11 employees on medical leave this year, has a nearly identical paid leave rate to the corrections department at 7.9% of its employees, according to headcounts from the state’s administrative agency.

Hoffer, the state auditor, discovered similar trends in his 2017 reports.

Steve Howard, executive director of the Vermont State Employees’ Association, said the biggest complaint he hears about investigative leave is the length of the process, which he called a “morale killer.”

“They want the investigation to be completed as quickly as possible,” Howard said of his union members.

In some cases, Howard said, employees remain on leave even after investigations are completed. According to Howard, resolving conflicts directly between an employee and a manager could speed up the process and prevent the conflict from escalating, which is an improvement over the centralized HR system that currently exists.

Given the staffing shortage across state government, Howard said it was up to management to complete the investigation quickly. This is particularly true for correctional staff, who are particularly overworked, Howard said.

“They are under very strict, possibly inappropriate scrutiny because they perform one of the most difficult and demanding jobs in all of state government,” he said.

And while Howard wasn’t aware of this year’s increase in investigative leave, he said he’s heard from union members that the Human Resources Department is being “very aggressive about discipline.”

Fastiggi, the human resources commissioner, said paid leave during misconduct investigations is more likely to be used by state employees who have “direct influence on a client,” such as veterans’ home employees or correctional officers, than state employees who do do work remotely.

While the Human Resources Department has not provided data on the average length of an investigation, the total number of investigations and total hours suggest an average leave of about 640 hours per employee in 2024 – the equivalent of 80 days or 16 weeks of work. That’s up from about 63 days in 2023.

The duration of investigations is increasing slightly faster than the total number of paid leave investigations, which increased from 113 in 2023 to 135 by mid-December 2024.

According to the ministry, as of December 12 of this year, 68 investigations related to paid leave have been completed in 2024. Of these, 25 resulted in unsubstantiated findings, 19 resulted in feedback from the regulator and three fell into the termination/involuntary category. Other decisions included suspensions, verbal reprimands and agreed agreements (six cases) – negotiated decisions between employer and employee.

Former Human Services Secretary Mike Smith attempted to eliminate established agreements within his agency’s departments around 2020. Data shows that they have been used much less since then.

Fastiggi did not point to a single factor responsible for rising costs in 2024. She noted that the Department of Corrections is “driving” the number of employees on paid leave and that both the overall volume and length of investigations are likely factors.

However, Fastiggi says investigations take time, and more serious allegations take longer to investigate and decide.

“We want to ensure that all employees have due process and that we have safe workplaces for our employees,” she said.