Malingering Workers
All of us have days when we just don’t feel like doing our jobs. But some, we came to learn in this particular case, can take malingering to a whole other level. We were asked to investigate several local government employees who were reportedly showing up for work each morning, punching in on the timeclock, then leaving the office to go to work at their second jobs. The department had received calls from citizens complaining that government labeled vehicles had been seen parked at a house under renovation in their neighborhood.
What caused this concern was that the neighborhood in question was not even located within the jurisdiction where the vehicles were from. We were brought in to investigate. Surveillance of two suspected employees led our investigators to a house in a neighboring jurisdiction that was being renovated.
Surveillance of two suspected employees led our investigators to a house in a neighboring jurisdiction that was being renovated.
The two were subsequentially observed working at the residence for several hours that day, and again on multiple other days. During which time, the men were seen performing various construction-related tasks, such as removing loads of construction debris, installing drywall, cutting wood trim strips, and painting, all while being clocked-in at their office, our investigators would confirm. Several of the men’s co-workers were also seen at the property, lending a hand by hauling debris and delivering supplies. These individuals were confirmed to also on-the-clock.
Our investigators collected a significant amount of evidence of these activities and presented it to our client in the form of a written report. Soon thereafter, the two men were terminated for malingering and the others were disciplined accordingly.