Dual Employment Audit by Delaware State Auditor Shows Lack of Compliance

Delaware’s Auditor of Accounts, Lydia York, has released the second Dual Employment Performance Audit of her first term, but says that they were unable to fully assess whether State agencies complied with the Dual Employment law – elected and appointed officials collecting pay between two state-funded jobs. This audit covers the 2023-2025 period, but auditors faced longstanding challenges – including being able to develop a complete population of dually employed officials, insufficient reporting mechanisms to monitor compliance and scope limitations – most notably from the University of Delaware.

The report makes numerous recommendations to State Agencies and Covered Organizations, including the Public Integrity Commission (PIC) and the Delaware Office of Management and Budget.  Auditor York says the audit makes it clear to Delawareans that there are no centralized oversight systems in place to ensure compliance or enforcement of the Dual Employment law, which has been in effect since 1986.

Additional information from Auditor Lydia York:  

York adds, “At every level, auditors encountered roadblocks and were forced to rely on labor-intensive alternative audit procedures. While the PIC and some Covered Organizations have begun moving in the right direction, our State is simply not close to full compliance.

“Delaware law has made it clear since 1986 that elected and appointed officials shall not be paid for coincident time from two State-funded sources, and that it is my office’s responsibility to conduct this audit. It is past time for State Agencies and lawmakers to take these findings and their responsibility to uphold this law seriously. Failure to implement our recommendations will result in continued risk of noncompliance and unlawful behavior.”