Legislative subcommittee reviews OLA audit that flags $367M overtime, $37M shift bonuses and agency recordkeeping gaps

The Legislative Audit subcommittee on the finance committee reviewed an Office of Legislative Auditor performance audit of statewide overtime and shift-bonus pay that covered July 1, 2022, through Dec. 31, 2024. Audit Director Jordan Bionfold told members the state paid about $15.7 billion in payroll during that period, of which roughly $367 million (about 2%) was overtime and about $37 million was paid as shift bonuses.

Bionfold said the audit focused on five agencies that accounted for the greatest overtime spending: the Departments of Human Services, Corrections, Transportation (MnDOT), Public Safety (DPS) and Natural Resources (DNR). Those five agencies paid about $300 million in overtime during the audit period, roughly 82% of statewide overtime, and DHS and Corrections accounted for about $35 million in shift bonuses, about 94% of the statewide total.

The audit identified seven findings. Five findings related to overtime and compensatory-time calculations: in each of the five audited departments auditors found instances where overtime was not always calculated accurately or supporting documentation was not retained. "Generally, the incorrect calculations were relatively small," Bionfold said, but the errors affected some employees across agencies. The audit also highlighted large individual outsized payments: several employees earned more than $200,000 in overtime over the 2.5-year period, and the audit identified more than 200 employees who earned six-figure overtime totals.

Two findings related to shift-bonus plans. Bionfold said both DHS and Corrections negotiated memorandums of understanding with unions that allowed agencies to…