LINCOLN, Neb. —
Nebraska State Auditor Mike Foley is urging the Public Employees Retirement Board to stop a third paycheck scheduled for Tuesday for the former executive director of the Nebraska Public Employees Retirement System, who left the job in September.
The three payments total $27,878.31 in salary, leave and employer-paid benefits, according to Foley’s office. The former director received checks of $7,884.81 on Oct. 14 and Oct. 28. Foley says he left the state on Sept. 21, returned his work equipment and has not performed work for the agency since.
“You can’t pay somebody for not working,” Foley said in an interview Monday. “That’s not how the state statutes work with respect to state employees.”
In a new letter to the board, Foley argues there is no authority to continue paying the former director after he left the job. The letter also raises concerns about the director’s short tenure, including allegations of workplace disruptions and unapproved absences. Foley says the agency did not follow its own policies for handling complaints.
Foley said his office has asked the board to stop the final payment and recover the money already paid. He said the board has discussed the matter in closed session but has not announced a change to the payment plan.
“This is all preventable,” Foley said. “Somebody would just say, ‘Stop this right now.'”
Foley said his office does not have enforcement authority to stop the payment. The board’s position on the auditor’s requests was not included in the materials provided.
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