SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Diya TV) — California’s State Controller’s Office failed to detect two managers working from other states and delayed recovering more than $33,000 in employee salary overpayments, a state audit found.

The report, released Oct. 1, identified weaknesses in the office’s employee oversight and payroll collection practices. Controller Malia Cohen leads the agency and is seeking a second term in the Nov. 3 election.

One manager moved to Idaho in November 2020 and worked from there for about five years without notifying the office. Auditors reviewed computer login records, property ownership and an Idaho driver’s license. The manager continued listing California addresses on telework agreements, including an address belonging to a relative.

The second manager worked from Alabama and Tennessee without disclosing those locations. She maintained that she lived in California, but auditors concluded that the evidence indicated otherwise.

State human resources officials instructed agencies in February 2022 not to approve regular out-of-state telework. Limited exceptions permit temporary arrangements, which agencies must document.

The controller’s office said both managers have left the agency. It also said it is updating its telework policy and developing procedures to monitor work locations.

In a separate payroll investigation, auditors found that officials delayed collecting salary overpayments from two employees for more than a year. Officials considered using the state’s government claims process to address the debts but never pursued that plan.

The office disputed the finding that it violated collection requirements. It reported that one employee had repaid the debt and that deductions were beginning for the other.

The statewide report also identified a senior law enforcement officer who searched confidential records without a business purpose. That investigation involved an unnamed agency, not an identified finding against the controller’s office.

Auditors recommended stronger telework monitoring, clearer policies, and prompt recovery of employee overpayments.