Evening star., 1963-12-19
Hacking on U. S. Time
Urgedos Firing OHense

OS
The Controller General said
today Government employees
who drive taxicabs while they
should be working or on sick
leave ought to be severely dsci-
plined or fired.
In a report to Congress, Con-
troller Joseph Campbell also
reprimanded the District Pub
lie Utilities Commission for in
terfering with a Federal inves-
tigation Of outside work.
Limited findings disclosed a |
substantial number" of work
ers for the District government
and three Federal agencies had
cheated or forgotten about
hours they worked for the Gov
eminent and hacking Checked
along with the District was the
Post Office Department and
the Veterans and General Ser
vices Administrations.
Some 1,799 employees Of the
four agencies are licensed to
drive taxicabs in the District.
according to a General Ac-
counting office survey this
year.
Study Driver Records
The GAO asked 449 drivers
to turn In their taxi time re-
cords. OF the 449, about half
the drivers complied. OF those |
who co-operated, l22 had writ |
ten conflicts into their record,
126 submitted records too sket- |
chy to analy7e and so had
driving times that did not con-
flict with Government hours.
Most Of the hackers who |
worked for the District govern
ment drove while on official |
duty status. Others drove while |
on sick leave during official |
duty hours, on days for which |
sick leave was charged before |
or after duty hours, and on
days when sick leave was
charged but the time Of trips
was not shown. /
For example, one District I
employe was ON sick leave for
three hours in April. His mani
fest showed four trips during
this time. Another employe
worked from 4 pm. to mid
night for the District. His man
ifest on working days showed
he drove a taxi but did not in
dicate whether hacking was in
the morning or evening.
Urges Strong Action
One Veterans Administration
worker reported sick for 29
days in July and August. His
manifest showed he had driven
his taxicab several hours on
each Of these days. He retired
November /.
Mr.. Campbell admitted find
ings were tentative. II they are
confirmed, however. agencies
should take strong disciple
nary action, including removal
Of the offenders from the pay
roll, where warranted" he re-
ported.
He aimed a singing criticism |
at the Public Utilities Commits
sion for ordering rejection of
taxicab manifests requested by
Federal investigators through
the District police department.
Some 392 taxicab drivers who
worked for the Post Office had
been asked for reports by Oc-
tober 25.
Rule Is Rewritten
Days before, a representative
of a taxicab association queried
P. U. C.'s Chairman James A.
Washington, jr., about the rea-
sons why. At that point, the
PUG rewrote a rule which said
manifeSts could be demanded
by the P. U. c., the police de-
partment or any other branch
of the District government.
The new version lodged reSpon-
sibility for manifest inspections
in the P. U.C
The substitute regulation |
was approved by Mr.. Washing
ton and Edgar H. Bernstein, OF
the p. U. c., without advising
the third P. U. C. member, En-
gineer Commissioner Charles
NJ. Duke, according to the
GAO.
Later District Commissioners
met with P. U. C. members and
agreed that taxicab records
should be available to the Fed !
eral as well as the District gov
ernment. The Federal investi-
CATION proceeded.
I'VE we're provided with no
convincing reasons, however,
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
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