Vacation and Sick Leave

Published December 9, 2022

The audit was performed as a review of employee vacation and sick leave time to inform County policy.

What was found:

The focus of the review was on analysis of vacation and sick leave information contained within the NOVAtime (timesheet) and Munis (accounting/ human resources) systems. Computerized procedures can be used to extract employee timesheet information and relevant employee data from County systems. This allows the linkage of leave information and employee information, such as identifying employee leave balances with length of County service. Limitations within NOVAtime system reporting prevented analysis of data prior to Fiscal Year 2021-2022.

Overall, the County’s internal and management controls over the employee leave operation are effective and working as intended.

The audit identified the following areas for further improvement, including:

• The NOVAtime system allows for leave adjustments to create negative balances.
• Data could be used more effectively for decision-making.
• Differences exist between NOVAtime and Munis database information.
• Vacation and sick leave balances for separated employees are a potential risk.
• Vacation and sick leave maximum balances are inconsistently enforced.
• Employees are not using sufficient vacation leave as directed by policy.
• County policy for leave accrual timing not in conformance with Oregon law.
• County policy and bargaining agreements need to be updated to match current practice for maximum vacation and sick leave timing.
• Cash out election provisions of time management leave may accelerate employee taxable income.

A number of other analyses were performed but did not yield any recommendations.

What was recommended:

Recommendations included:

• configuring the system to not allow for negative balance adjustments;
• exploring the cost-benefit of additional reporting services;
• establishing secondary review processes for balance limit calculations and adjustments;
• revising County policies and CBA contract language to align with practice; and
• adjusting the cash out policies to address constructive receipt.

Recommendation update:

No progress was made between the 2024 and 2025 updates. Staff were waiting for approval from the Board on a draft policy to address most of the issues. Other issues were on hold due to contract negotiations and a new employee performance evaluation process led by Human Resources.