Jefferson Parish Inspector General finds ‘abuse of sick leave’ at East Bank Fire Department

JEFFERSON PARISH, La. (WGNO) — The East Bank Consolidated Fire Department was the subject of a recent audit done by the Jefferson Parish Office of Inspector General.

Between Jan. 1, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2023, the JPOIG claims members of the EBCFD received pay for off-duty injuries or illnesses costing the parish millions.

The EBCFD is a 200-member full time paid fire department which employs firefighters, investigators, training officers, records clerks and others in a designated fire civil service system.

According to Louisiana law:

Every fireman in the employ of a municipality, parish or fire protection district to which this Sub-part applies, shall be entitled to full pay during sickness or incapacity not brought about by his own negligence or culpable indiscretion for a period of not less than fifty-two weeks.

In total, the JPOIG reported that 78 employees received pay for off-duty injuries or illnesses, costing the parish $3,023,579 with $2,076,878 in gross salaries and $946,701 in employer
benefits.

Of that, 28 had a total of 36 instances of the injuries and illnesses and accounted for 60,303 FODI hours. This cost the city $2,445,929 with $1,681,902 in gross salaries and $764,027 in benefits.

JPOIG officials claimed that the EBCFD:

• Paid employees without assessing employee negligence or responsibility without obtaining any or sufficient medical documentation to verify the cause or the nature of the injuries/illness
• Paid employees for more than 52 weeks when fire civil service personnel rules only allow 52 weeks.
• The EBCFD incorrectly used workers’ compensation claims as a means of validating whether an employee was eligible to use FODI leave due to an injury/illness.
• The department did not comply with basic internal controls established in the Red Book.

As a result, they offered the following recommendations:

• Develop a structured claims process to minimize any abuse of FODI leave
• Review the Red Book regarding sick and FODI leave to comply with state law and establish clarity
• Stop using Worker’s Compensation to determine to determine eligibility for FODI
• Adopt policies to discourage abuse of FODI leave

They also advise the EBCFD to implement the use of signed medical release forms.

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