BALTIMORE — A new Baltimore City Inspector General's report raises questions as to why the Mayor's Office paid nearly $150,000 to several workers who went on leave prior to resigning.
Inspector General questions Baltimore City workers paid leave procedures
The procedure in question was once called "Permission Leave," now known as "Administrative Leave."
It authorizes paid leave under certain circumstances like inclement weather, the COVID-19 pandemic, and other emergencies. At times, however, it can apply to employees who've received termination notices or separation agreements.
According to the report, five former Mayor's Office employees received these benefits for a combined 276 days totaling $147,264.90 despite not working.
While the Inspector General concedes there's no policy in place specifically barring such decisions, there is concern for a lack of equitable treatment among City employees assigned elsewhere who aren't entitled to similar perks.
"Most frontline labor employees in City agencies do not receive a separation agreement with permission leave or an extended separation at the time of their separation from City employment," the Inspector General concluded.
As stated in the report, additional City agencies were found to be offering up "Permission Leave" to some employees but not others.
"Since January 2024, there were 8 City employees from other City agencies that received permission leave when ending City employment and were paid an approximate total of $76,615.07 for 229 workdays," the report notes.
Overall the Inspector General found the City issued $312,555.86 in "Permission Leave" pay.
Another finding alarming the Inspector General was a situation in which two city employees allegedly were paid more than $53,000 beyond their departure date.
The City doesn't appear to address this last point in their response.
They did, however, defend their leave procedures likening them to severance pay commonly used across the professional world.
The City insists they don't discriminate in approving leave requests.
"Administrative leave is, without question, granted equitably across the entire City workforce," their response reads."That use of discretion is paramount and other employment matters in such a way that protects the integrity of operations and ensures the most efficient use of City resources."
While the City seems to disagree with the Inspector General's interpretation of what actually transpired, they did agree to review the administrative leave process to ensure fairness and equability.
