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Payroll Finance Office employees were paid at an out-of-title rate for performing their supervisor’s duties when they used leave accruals, and documented the out-of- Payroll title and overtime pay on their time sheet which was approved by their department head. Department heads documented their time worked, including any overtime, should be on the department’s payroll input summary that was not reviewed or approved by supported another official. As such, department heads were allowed to review and approve their own time records without oversight from another official. by time records that What Is Accurate and Supported Payroll? document Payroll should be supported by time records that document the days and hours worked, including any leave accruals used. These records should be reviewed the days and approved by the employee’s supervisor. Prior written authorization should and hours be required for all nonemergency overtime hours and granted only for specific, verifiable purposes, consistent with any collective bargaining agreements, board- worked, adopted policies, procedures, rules or regulations. including Town officials having direct supervision over employees must certify that services any leave indicated on the payrolls were performed and compensation paid to employees was calculated accurately based on actual hours worked and board-approved accruals pay rates. To mitigate risk and help ensure accuracy, town officials having direct supervision over specific departments or individual employees must certify used. payroll registers or similar records. A review of the completed payroll register will help detect unusual or inaccurate payments requiring further verification before checks are distributed. The certification should indicate that, to the best of the supervisor’s knowledge, services were actually performed by the persons listed on the payroll and days and hours worked, including overtime, are accurate, approved and supported. The board should adopt a written payroll policy and town officials should develop procedures that describe the responsibilities of officials and employees when preparing payroll records to submit to the Personnel Department for processing and reviewing and certifying the accuracy of payroll. These procedures should segregate payroll duties so that an employee cannot approve their own time records or overtime. The Town’s Personnel Rules and Regulations (Regulations) establish procedures for Finance Office employees to receive out-of-title pay. The Regulations state, “An employee temporarily assigned to a higher job classification, shall be paid at an additional rate of $3.00 per hour, while performing the duties of that higher classification. Out-of-title pay can generally only be earned by an employee due to the absence of their direct supervisor. As such, out-of-title pay cannot be earned by an employee if their direct supervisor is recording time worked during the same day.” 6 Of f ic e of t he New York State Comptroller