She also says they have misused permissible “taxpayer-funded union time” (TFUT) for vacations, inefficiently utilized the department’s workspace, and submitted “inaccuracies” in so-called “locality pay” that’s adjusted for a worker’s geographic location to better retain talent.
“In your first several months of managing HUD, I am sure you have identified a number of areas ripe for reform,” Ernst wrote in the letter, which was first reported by conservative news outlet the Daily Caller.
“Among those, if it has not come to your attention already, are the department’s ongoing workforce management and space utilization challenges.”
In the letter, Ernst says that a whistleblower at HUD informed her of a colleague who supposedly lives in Florida while collecting locality pay for living in Washington, D.C. Ernst did not publicly reveal the documents she cites in the letter but says they are “on file with the sender.”
She goes on to say that the HUD staffer revealed through other documentation that they describe themselves as a “real estate professional” with residency in Florida.
Ernst’s letter also alleges that an American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) “steward” who works out of HUD’s Denver field office took vacations while claiming to be working remotely or on TFUT.
“Specifically, the whistleblower alleges the Colorado vacationer has been working entirely on TFUT time since 2017 and has been taking vacations while informing HUD managers he has been working remotely or on TFUT.”
TFUT is referred to as “official time” in the U.S. Code, which describes it as permitted activity for those involved in the collective bargaining process.
“Any employee representing an exclusive representative in the negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement […] shall be authorized official time for such purposes, including attendance at impasse proceeding, during the time the employee…