A California Department of Motor Vehicles employee took naps on the clock for up to three hours a day for nearly four years with her supervisor's knowledge, according to a new report released Tuesday by the state auditor.
The employee, who has not been named, has cost taxpayers over $40,000, according to The Sacramento Bee.
"From February 2014 through December 2017, the employee misused more than 2,200 hours of work time as a result of sleeping on the job," the report states. "We believe that the employee likely slept for at least three hours each day."
The employee’s superiors knew she was sleeping on the job, but “failed to take disciplinary or medical action against the employee after initial efforts to address her conduct proved unsuccessful.”
The employee’s work included routine data entry for change of address and new vehicle ownership forms.
The woman is still a DMV employee. Her managers are currently working with human resources to find a solution after the report's release, Fox News reported.
This case is one of 1,481 instances of "improper governmental activities" the California State Auditor's Office has investigated over the past year, according to The Sacramento Bee.
A high-ranking Cal Fire chief had two state employees build an add-on to a house he rented during work hours. Records show it was decorated as a tiki room and the chief invited others to drink alcohol with him.
The assistant chief was given a 30-day suspension and Cal Fire demolished the tiki room, auditors said.
Other instances of government time misuse were found at Fresno State University, where two employees took extended breaks over a four-year period. According to auditors, this amounted to 5,100 hours of wasted time and $111,000 in salary paid for work that was not performed.
The director of nursing at a Southern California prison also reassigned a licensed vocational nurse to a position she wasn't qualified for, auditors found. The nurse was reportedly a friend of the director.
In all, four employees cost California taxpayers $160,000, auditors said.
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