TEGL06-84acc.pdf

ETA Advisory File Text

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABO R Classification Fraud Abuse Employment and Training Administration Correspondence Symbol TC Was i irtgton D.C. 20213 Date March 5 1985 TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT GUIDANCE LETTER NO. 6-84 FROM FRANK C. CASILLAS Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training SUBJEC T States1 Responsibilities in DOL Incident Report Procedures I. Purpose. To transmit procedures for reporting known or suspected incidents of fraud program abuse or criminal conduct. 2. Background. The Job Training Partnership Act JTPA provides for concurrent oversiqht activities initiated by local State and Federal entities in the Job Training - system. In particular Section 103 provides for local level oversight by Private Industry Councils PICs Sections 105 106 122 and 164 contain State level oversight responsibilities and Sections 163 164 165 and 454 address certain Federal oversight responsibilities. In addition 20 CFR 629.55 of the JTPA regulations states in part that All information and complaints involving fraud abuse or other crininal activity shall be reported directly and immediately to the Secretary of Labor. 3. Policy. The Employment and Training Administration s ETA policy recognizes the significant responsibilities of the States PICs and local elected officials in conducting oversight of JTPA. In order to carry out responsibilities at 20 CPR 629.55 the ETA is issuing to State and local program officials procedures for reporting to ETA Regional Administrators known or suspected incidents of fraud malfeasance misapplication of funds gross mismanagement or other criminal activities in ETA funded programs. The reports submitted by the States serve a dual purpose. They provide information on fraudulent activities which may be prosecutable and they provide information on other types of incidents which allow ETA to identify trends and patterns occurring throughout the States. The procedures described in the following section are intended to supplement but not supplant other systems of oversight carried out by local State and Federal entities. t RESCISSIONS EXPlRATlON DATE March 31 1986 . DISTRIBUTION 4. Notification to the Regional Office of Alleged Problems. In order to facilitate the reporting process DOL has developed procedures and standardized forms for reporting incidents. Any act which raises questions concerning possible illegal expenditures or other unlawful activities should be immediately reported. It is not the intent of the Incident Report IR to elicit reports only after determination that an act or allegation is legally prosecutable. All such incidents shall be reported immediately even though the case may be subsequently handled by the Governors service delivery areas SDAs or local law enforcement agencies. DOL Form DL 1-1 56 Incident Report IR should be used to notify Regional Administrators RAs of all known or suspected cases of Eraud abuse or other criminal activities in ETA-funded programs see Attachments I 11 and I11 -- facsimile of DL 1-156 Use and Preparation of DL Form 1-156 Incident Report and Definition of Terms respectively . The original and one copy of this form should he forwarded to the approgriate RA within one work day of the discovery of the occurrence. The RA in turn will immediately distribute the IR in accordance with established DOL procedures. 5. Office of the Inspector General DOL Hotline. It is anticipated that the incident reporting procedures outlined above will be utilized to report matters to the RA. However all State JTPA agencies are requested to notify their employees of the availability of the OIG DOL Hotline for providing information confidentially. Suffi- cient copies of a poster which provides information about the Hotline are attached for display in State JTPA and SDA off ices. The Hotline--900-424-5409 357-0227 FTS and Washington D.C. local area --was established for employees and the public to notify the OIG of suspected fraud abuse or waste in DOL-funded programs. The Hotline permits reporting of matters anonymously if desired to avoid fears of reprisal. Information supplied via the Hotline should be as specific as possible to enable the OIG to identify and solve the problem. The Hotline should not be used for resolving employee grievances EEO complaints labor disputes or other personnel concerns. 6. ETA Action. The Employment and Training Administration is in the process of publishing in the Federal Register a notice which describes the procedures outlined above . Necessary Action a. Establish procedures for use by State and sub-state personnel egg. SDAs subrecipients contractors etc. to ensure that the States fulfill their responsibilities to forward IRs to the appropriate RA within one work day of the discovery of the occurrence. b. Ensure that State staff SDAs subrecipients contractors etc. are familiar with the procedures that are established the content of the attachments to this document and the availability of the OIG DOL Hotline to provide information confidentially. 8. Inquiries. Questions concerning this notice should be directed to Anna C. Hall Chief Division of Special Review and Internal Control Office of Program and Fiscal Integrity on 202 376-6295. 9. Attachments. a. Attachment I - DOL Forrn DL 1-156 Incident Report IR b. Attachment TI - Use and Preparation of DL Form 1-156 IR c. Attachment 111 - Definition of Terms and d. Attachment IV - OIG DOL Hotline Poster. ATTACHMENT I DOL FORM DL 1-156 INCIDENT REPORT Incident Report U.S Department of Labor Office of Inspector General For Official Use Only When filled in 1. Date of report 2 Agency designation code 3. File Number Yr. Agency Report No. For IG use 4 Type of report Initial Supplemental Final Other Specify 5. Type of incident Conduct violation Criminal violation Program violation 6 lle atlonagainst DOL Employee Contractor Grantee Program participant or claimant 0 Other Specify Give name and position of employee s contractor s grantee etc. List telephone number OWCP or other Claim File Number if applicable and other identifying data 7. Location of incident Give complete name s and addresses of organization s involved 8 Date and time of incidentfdiscovery 9. Source of complaint Public C Contractor Grantee Program Participant Audit Investigative Law Enforcement Agency Specify Other Specify Give name and telephone number so additional information can be obtained. 10. Contacts with law enforcement agencies Specify name s and agency contacted and results 11. Expected concern to DOL Local Regional National Media interest Executive interest GAO Congressional interest Other Specify 12. DOL Agency involved SECY ESA OSHA SOL ETA ASP ILAB LMSA MSHA OASAM OIG BLS 0 NCEP WE OlPA Other Specify Amount of grant or contract If known Amount of subgrant of subcontract If known 13. Persons who can provide additional information Include custodian of records Local Address Street. City. State or organization if employed and Name Grade Position or job title Employment telephone number Enter one of these codes. U -Unemployed G -Grantee C -Contractor D -DOL F -Other FederalEmployee P -ProgramPartic pantor claimant Complete page 2 of this form DL 1-156 8 83 Fo Of icinl L i. Only vf he i lied n ---..-. ...---- .- ---- - -- li I .. - . -c cj - DF h nci eiiti If more room IS needed attach add ttonal sheets 15 Typed name and title of DOC employee 16 S gnature of DOL employee 17 Coptes furn shed to 18 Attachments C sti ATTACHMENT I1 USE AND PREPARATION OF FORM DL 1-156 ATTACHMENT I1 Use and Preparation of DL Form 1-156 Incident Report A. Purpose. Form DL 1-156 should be used for reporting to Reqional Administrators RAs incidents of Program abuse fraud or other criminal violations involving ETA-funded programs and operations. B. Responsibilities of Governors. Governors are responsible for reporting all actual or suspected violations to the Reqional Administrators using the Incident Report DL 1-156. While such information may be phoned directly to the RA these telephone reports should be supplemented by submission of the Incident Report within 72 hours. C. Use of the Incident Report Form DL 1-156. As an Initial Report The DL 1-156 is designed primarily as an initial report of actual or suspected violations to inform the RAs that a violation or apparent violation has occurred. It should also be used to initially inform the RAs of cases involving employees programs and operations being investi- qated by or reported to other investiqative agencies. 2. As a Supplemental Report - The DL 1-156 should also be used to submit supplemental information not available at the time the original report was submitted. Form DL 1-156 should he used as indicated below. a It is determined that the matter cannot be resolved at the agency level and the case is administratively closed. b Supplemental reports should be submitted without awaiting the results of adjudication. 3. As a Final Rewort Form DL 1-156 should be used as indicated below. a An incident is resolved or otherwise settled. 5 Final adjudication or imposition of administra- tive disciplinary action against the person or organization involved is initiated. When adjudication results become known the final report should be sent to the RAs indicating the results. D. Completion of the Incident Report. Form DL 1-156 should be completed as follows Block 1 Enter the date the form is actually signed by the responsible agency official. Block 2. Enter the fiscal year e.g. October 1 1984 - September 30 1985 in which the report is beinq submitted the two letter State abbreviation and a number to indicate the chronological sequence of the report e.g. 84-VT-0001 would show that the report was submitted in Fiscal Year 1984 by Vermont and was the first report submitted in FY 1984 . Block 3. Leave Blank. For use by OIG only. Block 4. Indicate the type of report being submitted by checking the appropriate block If the report is both an Initial and a Final report then place a check in both the initial and final blocks. Block 5. Check appropriate block. Block 6. Check appropriate block. Block 7. Enter the name of the person recipient or subrecipient if applicable and the location where the incident occurred. A general geographic city town location or mail address should be used. Block 8. Complete as necessary. Block 9. Check appropriate block s . Public includes press. Block 10. Any information requested by any law enforce- ment aqency should be reported here. Identify the officer and or agency who made the request. In Block 14 describe what information was requested from and offered to the outside agency. Rlock 11. Indicate the type of interest publicity that the incident may generate or actually has generated by placing a check in the appropriate block s . If necessary a brief statement of explanation may be included in Block 14. Block 12. Check appropriate block. Block 13. -- Conplete as necessary. Block 14. Synopsis - This is a clear concise statement of the incident which should include a When . Identify the time and date when the incident occurred when it was discovered when it was reported to supervisory personnel OIG or other law enforcement a.gency and whether an inventory was conducted to determine the extent of loss. b What . Describe the complete incident in as much detail as is available and necessary to give a complete picture of what happened. Cost value figures should be shown in the appropriate place in Block 12. c Who . Enter the names of those principal personnel who are listed in Block 7 and Rlock 13 as well as other personnel whose identities are necessary to complete the narrative and give the reader a complete picture of what happened. Include when applicable complete identities of persons aqencies to whom the incident is reported or referred. If needed for purpose of clarification include the reason s why non-principal personnel were involved e.g. fire department personnel who made pertinent determinations in a suspected arson incident . 11 Where . Clearly specify the location where the incident occurred e.g. a certain buildinq an area room within a building a particular contractor grantee location . If the direction and distance from an identifiable point of reference e.g. buildinq street intersection bridge is known this should be indicated. e Why . Frequently the motive for an incident is not readily discernible e.g. a suicide or property destruction or it must be deduced from the existing facts and circum- stances. If the why for an incident is known or suspected it should be reported. When a suspected motive is reported the basis rationale for the suspicion should be noted. -- --- - --------- f How . Report the manner method by which an incident actually or probably was committed and discovered. How an incident was discovered and committed should be reported in sufficient detail to assist proper authorities in the devel- opment of preventive measures. q Plan of Action. Indicate if OPFI or OIG assistance is requested. Block 15. Identify the name title address and telephone number of the official completing the report. Block 16. -All copies should be signed by the responsible official for the reporting office. Block 17. Self-explanatory. Block 18. Self-explanatory. Continuation. Entries requiring additional space may be continued at the end of the synopsis entry in Rlock 14 or on a separate sheet s of bond paper. Each continuation sheet should he headed Continuation and indicate the Activity Identifi- cation Code from Block 2. E. Supporting Documentation. All documentation e.g. photographs drawings pertinent relevant to the incident or necessary to clarify the attendant facts should be forwarded with the DL 1-156 if not already provided. F. Transmission of Reports. Mail copies of the DL 1-156 to the appropriate RA as shown on the following page. NOTE The copies sent to the --should be in a sealed envelope within the mailing envelope. In no event should reports be electronically transmitted. U.S. Department i . of .r Regional Administrators fcr the Revised 3 4 85 Enployment and Training Adrninlstration REGION I - Boston Robert Semler Acting Regional Administrator U.S. Department of Labor ETA Room 1703 J.F. Kennedy Fed. Bldg Boston Massachusetts 02203 REGION I1 - New York Thomas E. Hill Acting Regional Administrator U.S. Department of Labor ETA 1515 Broadway Room 3713 New York New York 10036 REGION I11 - Philadelphia William J. Haltigan Regional Administrator U.S. Department of Labor ETA P.O. Box 8796 Philadelphia Pennsylvania 19101 REGION IV - Atlanta Lawrence E. Weatherford Jr. Regionai Administrator U.S. De9artment of Labor ETA 1371 Pezchtree Street N.E. Rm. 405 Atlanta Georgia 30309 REGION V - Chicago Steven M. Singer Regional Administrator U.S. Department of Labor ETA 233 S. Dearborn Street Rm. 634 Chicago Illinois 60604 onagrcial Dialing Street Address--3535 Market Street Room 13300 REGION VI - Dallas Floyd E. Edwards Regional Administrator U.S. Department of Labor ETA 555 Griffin Sq. Bldg. Rm. 316 Griffin Young Streets Dallas Texas 75202 REGION VII - Kansas City Richard G. Miskimins Regional Administrator U.S. Department of Labor ETA Federal Bldg. Room 800 911 Walnut Street Kansgs City Missouri 64106 REGION VIII - Denver Luis Sepulveda Regional Administrator U.S. Department of Labor ETA 1961 Stout Street R. 1676 Denver Colorado 80294 REGION IX - San rancisco Don A. Balcer Regional Administrator U.S. Department of Labor ETA 450 Golden Gate Avenue Box 36084 Room 9108 San Francisco California 94102 REGION X - Seattle Harry B. Brown Acting Regional Administrator Rm. 11 45 Federal Office Bldg. 909 First Avenue Seattle Washington 98174 C ATTACHMENT I11 DEFINITION OF TERMS ATTACHMENT I I I DEFINITION OF TE.RMS For the purpose of completing the Incident Report fraud misfeasance nonfeasance or malfeasance misapplication of funds gross mismanagement and employee participant miscon- duct are explained in the following paragraphs. These definitions are illustrative and are not intended to be either fully inclusive or restrictive. a. Fraud. Misfeasance. Nonfeasance or Malfeasance. Fraud misfeasance and nonfeasance or malfeasance should be considered broadly as any alleged deliberate action which is apparently in violation of Federal statutes and regula- tions. This category includes but is not limited to indications of bribery forgery extortion embezzlement theft of participant checks kickbacks from participants intentional payments to a contractor without the expectation of receiving services payments to ghost enrollees misuse of appropriated funds and misrepresenting information in official reports. b. Misapplication of Funds. Misapplication of funds should be considered as any alleged use of funds assets or property not authorized or provided for under the Job Training Partnership Act JTPA or regulations grants or contracts. This category includes but is not limited to nepotism political patronage use of participants for political activities ineligible partici- pants conflict of interest failure to report income from Federal funds violation of contract grant procedures and the use of Federal funds for other than specified purposes. Indian and Native American programs are excluded from the aforementioned category regarding nepotism as cited in Section 632.118 of the Title IV-A B and E of JTPA. An Incident Report should be filed when it appears that there exists an intent to misapply funds rather than merely a case of minor mismanagement. c. Gross Mismanagement. Gross mismanagement should be considered as actions or situations arising out of management ineptitude or oversight leading to major violations of JTPA processes regulations or . OIG wcn-F6cus only those incidents reported under Categories a and b . ETA will use the information reported on the other types of incidents in order to identify trends and patterns occurring throughout the States for management information purposes. contract qrant provisions which could severely hamper the accomplishment of program goals. These include situations which lead to waste of Government resources and could jeopardize future support for a particular project. This category includes but is not limited to unauditable records unsupported costs highly inaccurate fiscal and or program reports payroll discrepancies payroll deductions not paid to Internal Revenue Service and the lack of good internal control procedures. Employee Participant Misconduct. Employee participant misconduct should be considered as actions occurring during or outside work hours that reflect negatively Jn the Department of Labor the State or the JTPA program. It may include but is not limited to conflict of interest or the appearance of conflict of interest involving outside employment business and professional activities the receipt or giving of gifts fees entertainment and favors misuse of Federal property misuse of official information and such other activities as might adversely affect the con idence of the public as well as serious violations of Federal and State laws. ATTACHMENT IV HOTLINE POSTER Poster Got the Word on Fraud Waste or Abuse Call the IG Hotline 800-424-5409 toll free or 357-0227 in the Washington metro area.