The recent unfavorable audit of the Department of Insurance under the direction of former Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi must have sent aftershocks throughout California state agencies. Among the strange effects, a state board has asked to be audited.
Audits are generally not something agencies want. They are expensive and result in lost jobs, funding, and autonomy. So why would an agency inflict such scrutiny upon itself? According to The Sacramento Bee (December 12, 2007), "The California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board [asked for an] audit to get to the bottom of allegations of criminal wrongdoing and possible favoritism and nepotism."
The board-commissioned investigator and attorney "found that familial connections were common at the board. All but one of the board’s four or five senior staff, for example, had relatives working at the board." The new Appeals Board chairman told the Bee "that one senior staff member… has five family members who have been employed by the board, including three who work there now."
The chairman, appointed in August, said that "[o]n a visit to a small field office recently, … he met a staff that included a woman who used to be on the board and her mother, two sons of one of the board’s administrative law judges, another mother and daughter, and the cousin of a Sacramento employee." The chairman admitted that the dysfunctional Brady Bunch setup "seems to be a culture at the board."
The board probably requested the audit because it would be pretty sticky to fire one of your relatives. Strangely, "the board does have a [no] nepotism policy…" that obviously is not being practiced. And, "because of the abundance of family members, it creates other problematic issues. People are afraid to complain."
One employee didn’t complain about the uncomfortable "family" environment, but decided to take the familial connections to a whole new level: "A board member alleged that [another board member] offered to pay her to act as a surrogate mother, and turned on her when she declined." Maybe it’s the board’s fault since it didn’t send out a memo to all employees explaining that the board does not double as a fertility clinic.
A state auditor said that "it [is] unusual for a state operation to request an audit of itself." It appears that the board was tired of internal bickering and tattled to their ultimate parental figure (the Administration). It is unimaginable to think of how many tax dollars were wasted to pay families to work (or hang out) together in offices with very little oversight. They say blood is thicker than water, and it appears to be much more expensive as well.
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