Report 2014-107 Recommendation 8 Responses

Report 2014-107: Judicial Branch of California: Because of Questionable Fiscal and Operational Decisions, the Judicial Council and the Administrative Office of the Courts Have Not Maximized the Funds Available for the Courts (Release Date: January 2015)

Recommendation #8 To: Administrative Office of the Courts

To reduce its expenses, the AOC should follow its policies and procedures limiting the period of time it can employ temporary workers, and develop a similar policy to limit the use of contractors to a reasonable period of time but no more than one year.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2016

In its 60-day response from March 2015, the Judicial Council of California (Judicial Council) indicated that it had revised its policies over temporary workers and contractors in response to this recommendation. Policy 3.3, section (E) states that appointments of temporary workers may not exceed six months in duration and independent contractors may not work more than one year unless pre-approved by the Chief Administrative Officer or Administrative Director. The Judicial Council does not believe additional changes to this policy are necessary and considers this recommendation to be fully implemented.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Fully Implemented

1-Year Agency Response

Temporary Workers: In March of 2015 Judicial Council Personnel Policy 3.3 was amended to limit temporary agency worker assignments to six months without pre-approval by the Chief Administrative Officer or Administrative Director. A report on the duration of assignments for the 18 temporary staff assigned to the Judicial Council for 2015 is attached. Consistent with Policy 3.3, of the 18, pre-approval with required justification was requested and granted for the retention of three (3) temporary staff beyond the six-month timeframe.

Contractors: An independent review of existing contractors is being conducted to evaluate internal controls on contractor usage, and provide recommendations for the Administrative Director's consideration. The report will be provided in the first quarter of 2016.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Partially Implemented

The AOC's policy applies only to temporary workers. We will consider this recommendation to be partially implemented until the AOC develops a similar policy related to contractors.

6-Month Agency Response

The policy is in place and the Judicial Council will provide a status report in the one-year report.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

60-Day Agency Response

Judicial Council Personnel Policy 3.3-Job Categories was amended to specify that temporary agency workers may not exceed six-months in duration, and independent contractors may not exceed one year in duration unless preapproved by the Chief Administrative Officer and/or Administrative Director. To ensure that the Judicial Council has adequate information, the policy includes an annual reporting mechanism to the governing body for any exceptions. (Policy 3.3 is submitted as supporting documentation.)

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Partially Implemented

Although we agree that this recommendation is partially implemented because the AOC adopted a policy that includes an annual reporting mechanism, we cannot be sure that the AOC will adhere to this policy. As we note in our report, the AOC did not adhere to its policy to employ temporary workers for less than six months. Until the AOC demonstrates following its policy, we consider this recommendation partially implemented.

All Recommendations in 2014-107

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.