US EditionGAO estimates attempted Education Department layoffs cost at least $28 million
The reduction-in-force left 247 staff on paid leave for nine months and coincided with a 90% complaint dismissal rate, costing taxpayers $28.5 million to $38 million, GAO found.
- On Monday, the U.S. Government Accountability Office reported the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights layoffs last year cost taxpayers between $28.5 million and $38 million.
- GAO investigators found the department lacked required documentation from OMB and OPM and could not demonstrate that it included all potential costs and savings of the cuts.
- At OCR, from March 21 to mid-December, 247 employees were paid but barred from working, and nearly half of its 575 employees were laid off and removed from payroll.
- GAO recommended a full accounting and the department is expected to report to Congress within 180 days on whether it agrees; Kimberly Richey, Director of OCR, said she "does not concur with the recommendation," and courts later blocked the RIF so some staff returned in December.
- From March to September, OCR resolved more than 7,000 discrimination complaints with about 90% dismissal rate, and GAO noted 62 staff would remain, about 10% of the office.
28 Articles
28 Articles
OCR Layoffs Estimated to Cost Up to $38M, GAO Says
The Education Department has reversed plans to lay off nearly 300 employees in its Office for Civil Rights (OCR), according to a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released Monday that estimated the reduction in force cost up to $38 million.
US Education Department paid up to $38M to civil rights workers on leave, watchdog says • West Virginia Watch
The Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building pictured on Nov. 25, 2024. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Education exhausted millions in taxpayer dollars trying to eliminate a chunk of its Office for Civil Rights, a government watchdog found in a report released Monday. The department spent between roughly $28.5 million and $38 million on the salaries and benefits of the hundreds of O…
US Education Department paid up to $38M to civil rights workers on leave, watchdog says • Rhode Island Current
The Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building pictured on Nov. 25, 2024. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Education exhausted millions in taxpayer dollars trying to eliminate a chunk of its Office for Civil Rights, a government watchdog found in a report released Monday. The department spent between roughly $28.5 million and $38 million on the salaries and benefits of the hundreds of O…
US Education Department paid up to $38M to civil rights workers on leave, watchdog says • Kentucky Lantern
The Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building pictured on Nov. 25, 2024. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Education exhausted millions in taxpayer dollars trying to eliminate a chunk of its Office for Civil Rights, a government watchdog found in a report released Monday. The department spent between roughly $28.5 million and $38 million on the salaries and benefits of the hundreds of O…
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