El Dorado County Board of Supervisors Response to the

R1

Policies and procedures should be established that are specific to payouts for unrepresented management staff by the HR Department by December 31, 2023. The recommendation has been implemented. There are already policies and procedures in place that are specific regarding payouts for unrepresented management staff. The Salary and Benefits Resolution (SBR) for unrepresented employees, adopted by the Board of Supervisors on January 3, 2023, and the County of El Dorado Personnel Rules, adopted by the Board of Supervisors on November 15, 2022, specify which employees are eligible for the various leave accrual payouts when exiting county service. Specifically, Section 9 of the SBR describes the eligibility requirements to receive sick leave upon separation, while Section 8 describes “annual vacation rates, maximum accumulation, payoff and usage by covered employees.” In addition, the Personnel Rules address the payout of vacation accruals upon separation. Notwithstanding the above formal guidance documentation, each department also has an HR Liaison. These Liaisons are tasked with determining eligibility as it relates to unused sick leave as described by the applicable section of Personnel Rules or various Labor Agreements, which includes the SBR for unrepresented employees. Furthermore, HR Liaisons are aware that they can contact HR if any questions arise when processing a final payout in their particular department.

R2

Prior to computation of final wages due, HR should take the initial step to confirm the terms of each employee’s specific agreement as it relates to unused sick leave and vacation pay due. Once eligibility is determined by HR, the information should then be forwarded to the affected departments as well as the Payroll Division. This should be implemented by December 31, 2023. The recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted. The HR Department respectfully offers that adding its confirmation of each exiting employee’s terms of separation is unwarranted. Currently, the information regarding the terms of separation, including the determination of payment eligibility for unused leaves, is available and accessible for every County employee through the County’s intranet, EDCNET, as well as the County’s public-facing webpage. An employee’s bargaining unit determines which labor agreement, resolution, and/or Personnel Rules define their terms of employment, including specifically the terms of eligibility related to payment for unused sick leave and/or vacation. The HR Department posts these guiding documents which are approved by the Board of Supervisors for all bargaining units publicly and are easily accessible to all County staff. The HR Department does not have the authority to create terms different or contrary to those already outlined in these policies. Because the terms of eligibility are so readily available and accessible to all staff, including those involved with executing leave payouts, and because the expertise to understand and execute those actions already exists in departments, including the CAO Fiscal Division and Auditor- Controller’s Payroll Division, there would be no added value to the process if the above recommendation were to be implemented. The error in this case was not a result of unclear or misunderstood eligibility criteria. County departments, the CAO Fiscal Division, and the Auditor-Controller’s Payroll Division have a clear understanding of the eligibility requirements and payout process as evidenced by a track record of performing these payout transactions countless times with phenomenal accuracy and consistency for years. Per the Grand Jury’s report, it appears there was some variance or oversight in the normal accounting process that led to the payout error in this case, not a question of eligibility.

R3

The HR Department should perform annual audits of past payout exit documents for benefits entitled to unrepresented employees beginning in 2023. The recommendation will not be implemented because it is not reasonable. The Human Resources (HR) Department does not currently have any fiscal, accounting, or auditing staff allocated to it. Those fiscal functions have historically been performed by either the CAO Fiscal Division or the Auditor-Controller for central service departments, such as County Counsel, Human Resources, and Information Technologies. Therefore, it is unreasonable to assign this fiscal auditing responsibility to the HR Department. That is not to say that the Board of Supervisors disagrees with the recommendation that such annual audits occur. The HR Department suggests that if audits to ensure the integrity of such fiscal transactions are to occur, they would be best performed by a department staffed with trained experts in fiscal auditing. Notwithstanding the above, the HR Department is always available if questions arise when processing payouts for separating employees.

R5

CAO should establish policies and procedures to prohibit any employee from approving their own final payout. In the case of a resigning department head, the approval should be made by the CAO or BOS. This should be implemented by December 31, 2023. The recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted. The Board of Supervisors does not believe this recommendation is warranted since staff, regardless of level, do not have the ability to approve their own final payout. In the case of a resigning department head, any final payout is computed by the CAO Fiscal Division and then forwarded to the Auditor-Controller’s Payroll Division for processing.