Date:  Friday, July 02, 2010

Contact: Lloyd Brown, WSDOT Communications, 360-705-7076

OLYMPIA – The Washington State Department of Transportation this week applauded the Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office after it formally filed charges against a former WSDOT employee accused of stealing more than $74,000 in unearned overtime compensation from 2007-2009.

Rachel Taylor of Tenino is charged with four counts of theft in the first degree. She was arraigned in Pierce County Superior Court on Thursday, July 1.

The unearned overtime was flagged by WSDOT management during a routine review of overtime accrual reports in 2009. An internal WSDOT review, involving the agency’s independent internal audit division, was launched immediately.

Taylor later admitted that from 2007-2009 she had adjusted her work time in the WSDOT timekeeping system for hours that she never worked, resulting in her receiving more than $74,000 in unearned state pay and benefits. The internal WSDOT audit also revealed some questionable charges on a state office purchasing account. WSDOT referred the case to the Washington State Patrol and Pierce County Prosecutors Office to investigate potential criminal charges.

Taylor, who resigned last year in lieu of termination from state employment, had been a secretary working in one of WSDOT’s Pierce County construction offices. One of her responsibilities included entering the office’s timesheets into WSDOT’s timekeeping system.

A civil lawsuit seeking restitution for the state is under way in Thurston County Superior Court.

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