Attention

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent our advertisers

Monday, August 04, 2014

Porn-surfing feds blame boredom, lack of work for misbehavior

Employees rarely face criminal prosecution for time and attendance fraud

For one Federal Communications Commission worker, his porn habit at work was easy to explain: Things were slow, he told investigators, so he perused it “out of boredom” — for up to eight hours each week.

Lack of work has emerged time and again in federal investigations, and it’s not just porn, nor is it confined to the FCC. Across government, employees caught wasting time at work say they simply didn’t have enough work to do, according to investigation records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

“He stated he is aware it is against government rules and regulations, but he often does not have enough work to do and has free time,” investigators wrote of another federal employee, this one at the Treasury Department, who viewed more than 13,000 pornographic images in a six-week span.

Investigations at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Commerce Department and the General Services Administration have turned up similar cases, though memos show the employees rarely face criminal prosecution for time and attendance fraud.

A spokesman for the FCC declined to comment on what, if any, action the agency took after the FCC’s inspector general singled out the eight-hour-a-week porn peeper.

More

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

HA HA! True story : My supervisor was caught looking at porn on the company computer and used the same excuse! No I don't work for the government, but guess what she kept her job, just like these idiots will!

Anonymous said...

If they are bored and don't have enough work to keep them busy, then their job should be eliminated or cut back to part-time.

Anonymous said...

I know someone who works for the Federal government (Pentagon), she tells me that if you go to your supervisor because you need work to do, it is frowned upon. They don't want employees that think like a taxpayer and rock the boat. You'd be derailing the gravy train.