State & Local Reports

The Economic Recovery Bridge Grant program in H.315 uses 2020 federal tax loss to establish eligibility for grants. Focusing on tax loss may help target limited resources to businesses that need assistance to remain viable. However, federal tax loss could include some deductions that increase 2020 losses but overstate the businesses’ need for financial assistance.

The audit shows Massasoit Community College was ensuring students met the requirements of the state's MassTransfer program and received the benefits of participation. The audit examined the period of July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2019.

The primary objective of this report is to show Missouri's spending of federal assistance in the month of March 2021 for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) emergency and the cumulative financial activity since the state began receiving funding in April 2020.

Audit found that the breakdown that led to the transfer of $1.75 million by Westfield State University (WSU) to an unauthorized account resulted from a failure to follow a basic procedure. The audit examined the period of October 1, 2018 through March 31, 2020.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted an audit assessing the Chicago Fire Department’s (CFD) policies and practices related to discrimination and sexual harassment. The objectives of the audit were to determine if CFD’s discrimination and sexual harassment prevention, reporting, and training policies and practices comply with relevant laws and regulations. The audit also sought to assess employees’ views on the Department’s workplace environment and culture related to discrimination and sexual harassment.OIG concluded that, while CFD’s policies comply with baseline federal, state, and local laws, the policies themselves, as well as the complaint process and training used to enforce and promote them, are insufficient to meet the environmental challenges posed by a command and control emergency service operation like CFD. Furthermore, the Department’s culture and workplace environment may make some members vulnerable to discrimination and/or sexual harassment. The Department is not alone in facing these issues; nationwide, fire department demographics are relatively homogenous and share historical cultural challenges related to discrimination and sexual harassment.The results of an OIG survey of CFD members indicate that concerns about discrimination and sexual harassment persist within the Department. The survey also revealed negative sentiments some CFD members hold regarding non-White, non-male members, and toward inclusive hiring practices. These attitudes may contribute to an environment that some members believe places them at significant risk of racial and gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment. Two hundred eighty-five CFD employees, or 6% of the Department’s roughly 5,000-person workforce, responded to the survey. While their responses may not represent the views of all CFD employees, they do provide valuable insights into the Department’s culture. OIG also found that the mandatory training the Department of Human Resources – Diversity and Equal Employment Opportunity Division (EEO Division) provides to CFD is high-quality, but that it is not adequately tailored to serve the needs of the Department’s command and control structure, unique aspects of its workplace, and the tension arising from its history of overt racial and gender discrimination.

This report contains the results of our investigation of the illegitimate unemployment claims and payments at the Department from January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020. The purpose of our investigation was to determine if a misappropriation had occurred and to provide the Department with recommendations to improve internal controls

The novel coronavirus quickly became a global pandemic in 2020. In March 2020, Congress passed the CARES Act to help provide support for those affected by the pandemic. Washington’s Employment Security Department administers the state’s unemployment compensation program. From early in the pandemic, news organizations reported on customer service delays and fraud in Washington’s Unemployment Insurance program. Th is audit examines the scope of and reasons behind substantial fraud and customer service delays in the state’s unemployment benefits program during the COVID-19 pandemic

Based on our risk assessment for the years ended June 30, 2020, 2019 and 2018, the areas examined were those representing the highest risk of fraud, loss, abuse, or noncompliance. We examined the following areas during this audit period. Accounts payable – general disbursements and electronic funds transfers, Payroll – gross wages and overtime, Paid family and medical leave – billing and compliance with eligibility, Procurement – information technology contracts and change orders