A state audit of UW System employment practices and policies is set to delve into issues such as felons employed at UW schools and backup jobs after the Joint Legislative Audit Committee approved the scope of the study Tuesday.
Chaired by Sen. Carol Roessler, R-Oshkosh, the committee voted unanimously to direct the Legislative Audit Bureau to examine seven aspects of the UW System. State Auditor Jan Mueller called the audit \large, broad-based and comprehensive.""
UW System President Kevin Reilly, as well as numerous state lawmakers, had requested a comprehensive audit of the UW System.
The audit is set to look into numerous subjects that have caused controversy in past months. Backup positions, which allow some employees the right to a second job, have come under intense scrutiny recently and will be looked at closely by the audit.
The UW System currently has imposed a freeze on the granting of backup jobs, but at the hearing, Reilly said current open positions for chancellors might be harder to fill without offering applicants some job security.
The audit will also attempt to determine information regarding UW System employees who are convicted felons. State Auditor Jan Mueller expressed confidence that her team could identify the felons working for the UW System.
""We've had some experience running large data sets against the felon list maintained by the department of corrections,"" Mueller said.
At the request of state legislators, the audit will also look into the status of individuals who work as consultants with the UW System. Mueller said she has received calls to discover the number of consultants working for the UW, their terms of employment and their work responsibilities.
The audit team will also examine the UW's policies and implementation of rules regarding sick leave and vacation use. The recent controversy over former Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Paul Barrows' extended sick leave has led some state lawmakers to criticize the UW System.
The audit team will compare the data gathered from UW with other comparable institutions, Mueller said.
At the hearing, Reilly and UW Regent President David Walsh emphasized that they have already made changes to the policy and are working to address concerns.
Walsh singled out the system's policy for dealing with employees convicted of felonies, calling it ""broken"" in egregious cases. He announced the appointment of a committee that would look into how to quickly deal with employees convicted of crimes, but stressed that he and the regents might need state law changed.
