COUNTY SEEKS TO CRACK DOWN ON OT ABUSE.

Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer

Concerned that some public employees are making more than $100,000 a year in overtime, Los Angeles County supervisors voted Tuesday to review timecard protocols and find ways to crack down on overtime and timecard abuse.

The vote follows the release of a report last week that found that more than one-quarter of the 100-highest-paid employees last year worked at the troubled Martin Luther King-Drew Medical Center in Watts.

Three employees on the list made more than $100,000 in overtime, including a King-Drew nurse manager who made $102,305, a Fire Department battalion chief who made $111,818 and a fire captain who earned $100,202.

``My concern is whether cases of fraud are being committed against the taxpayers,'' Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich said. ``We had physicians who were being employed at King-Drew, yet were drawing full salaries apparently while working at their private medical offices in the Antelope Valley, South Bay and other areas.''

On Tuesday, some of the supervisors spoke for the first time about the possibility of widespread timecard abuses among county employees.

``What I found in the (Department of Community and Senior Services) was that people were just signing off on (timecards),'' board chairwoman Gloria Molina said. ``It became robotic. It's an overall problem everywhere we go. It's not just in (the health department.) I've seen it in all the various county departments.''

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said he intends to introduce a motion to crack down on overtime abuse among Sheriff's Department employees.

``When it comes to the issue of overtime accountability, the one department we have not lowered the boom on and should have long ago is the Sheriff's Department and there is just no excuse in this billion-dollar department not to keep track of this,'' Yaroslavsky said.

The county issued its first comprehensive report on overtime in January, finding that more than 3,000 employees racked up overtime exceeding 50 percent of their regular pay; more than 350 employees doubled their salaries; and 16 tripled their incomes.

In January, 34 employees were on track to exceed $100,000 in annual overtime.

A 647-page report the Daily News obtained Tuesday revealed that as of the first six months of the year, eight county employees were on track to exceed $100,000 in annual overtime.

Troy Anderson, [phone]

troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com