BALTIMORE — Two Baltimore Department of Transportation employees have been fired for spending hours of their work day at home.
The Officer of the Inspector General released a report detailing an investigation into the two employees. It was alleged that one Traffic Maintenance Worker was taking his assigned city truck to his house during the work day after only working a few hours. He'd spend hours at a time at home before returning the truck at end his shift.
The investigation also determined that a second Traffic Maintenance Worker paired with the first was doing the same thing. This second employee lost his City driving privileges because he didn't attend a mandatory driver re-certification class. The OIG identified a pattern of abuse from these two employees.
On multiple occasions, the OIG observed one employee drop off the other near his home, then drive to his own home, where he would stay for hours. He would then pick up the other employee before the end of their workday.
The report said the first employee had been doing this since January 2017 and the second employee started shortly after being paired with the first.
Management took immediate action when the behavior was brought to their attention, and the two are no longer working for the City.
A referral was made to the Law Department regarding reimbursement of wages paid to the employees when they were at home during their scheduled shift.
In a letter attached to the report, Mayor Jack Young said DOT is developing a "Standard Operating Procedure and Policy" to provide better oversight of field employees in the future. Supervisors will all be required to sign the new policy.
