In an audit by the Justice Department, it was discovered that U.S. taxpayers were billed an average of $45,000  in overtime and extra pay for each FBI agent posted to Iraq between 2003 and 2007.

Dealing with sniper fire and mortar blast might make those amounts seem seriously low-balled, but the Justice Department’s audit found over $7.8 million of those wages were improperly billed.

Several agents noted they’d spent time during the week washing clothes — and they included those hours in their overtime requests. When asked whether agents should be paid for such activities, one agent said, “When you’re in that environment, anything you do to survive is work for the FBI.”

Other agents claimed they should be paid for important “liaison” meetings — which turned out to be regular Saturday night cocktail parties. In another case, dozens of agents claimed they were preparing evidence for Saddam Hussein’s court trial when they were taking part in a massive poker tournament.

The report also noted some misused overtime and extra pay allowances in Afghanistan and with agents in the Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Marshals Service, but those cases were far less severe.

A clerical error on a federal grant application has cost the city of Denver nearly $2 million in funds that would have financed the “Lead Safe Denver” program for another year. Officials at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) say they never looked at Denver’s grant application because a city staffer used an incorrect DUNS number (a nine-digit number used to track where federal grant money is sent) on the paperwork.

Lead Safe Denver, a 9-year-old program that tests low-income children for lead exposure and offers assistance and info on lead poisoning to needy families, nearly collapsed from the financial loss. The city had identified $360,000 shifted from other programs that will be used to keep the program alive for another year. At that time, the city can apply for another federal grant.

HUD is quick to point out there was no guarantee Denver would have received the funds, but it had received similar grants for the three previous years before the clerical error incident.

Officials say the mistake was made by a “pretty well-seasoned” city employee, but that staff shifts have been made since to prevent similar errors from happening again in the grant application process.

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has just ruled that the USPS didn’t violate the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) after terminating Antoinette Pirant, a former worker.

To be eligible for those benefits, an employee must have been employed by a company for at least 12 months and must have worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12-month period before making the request. After Pirant left for FMLA leave, USPS looked through their payroll records and discovered she didn’t meet the criteria.

Pirant had only logged in 1248.8 hours in the 12 months preceding her absence. As a result, USPS was forced to terminate her.

Pirant did not challenge the accuracy of USPS’ payroll records — instead, she claimed she was wrongly suspended for two hours at the end of one of her shifts, and those missed hours would have been enough to put her over the 1,250-hour threshold.

But a court ruled in favor of USPS, noting that Pirant could have challenged her suspension when it was placed into effect to have her lost hours restored. Because she didn’t file a grievance until long after the deadline had passed, there was no way for her to gain the lost hours — or her job back.

Cite: Pirant v. U.S. Postal Svc., 7th CA, No. 542-F3D-202

In a bid to improve the number of taxpayers who choose to file their state tax returns online, Maryland’s Comptroller has turned to tickling funny bones as a manner of persuasion. In a spoof of Budweiser’s “Real Men of Genius” advertising campaign, the state office has posted it’s “Real Taxpayers of Genius” on YouTube.

“Today, we salute you, Mr. Frustrated Taxpayer,” begins the announcer. He’s then backed up by singers who repeat his falsetto phrases announcing an alternative to paper-based confusion — individuals can file their taxes electronically.

At the video’s end, Comptroller Peter Franchot reminds viewers online filing is faster and easier than mailing a return — not to mention far less expensive for the state. The state spends $1.98 processing each paper return, compared to a paltry $0.38 for those filed online.

Yakima Washington (yes, like the city) claimed that her former boss asked her to run personal errands on several occasions during her employment.

Once Washington let Detroit City Council President Monica Conyers know she intended to file a formal complaint against her, the president responded by swiftly terminating her assistant.

The city council’s Internal Operations Committee originally approved an offer to pay Washington $90,000 through its claims process, but the city soon reneged on the deal. Soon after, Washington sued for breach of contract, and a new proposal was approved by a seven-to-one vote to pay Washington a $90,000 settlement.

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The “Careereoki” contest, sponsored by Workforce Central Florida and the Orange County Board, is going to give one lucky singer a career training scholarship, personal and resume makeovers, and a $100 gas card.

Dreamed up by the Orlando-area establishments, the contest requires people to videotape themselves singing about their dream career, karaoke-style. Most of the entrants are from Central Florida, because the grand prize includes tuition for a certificate program at Orange County Technical School.

Judges have the competition pared down to the final five, including takes on Robert Palmer’s “Bad Case of Loving You” and “Summer Nights” from the musical Grease.

The final winner will be decided by looking at three categories. Originality earns up to 50% of a contestant’s total score, while creativity and overall humor are worth 25% each.

Businesses and residents alike on Steve Padgett’s mail route in Apex, NC, couldn’t be happier with his service. For at least seven years, he’s refused to deliver junk mail to any of the residents. He says he started hiding the mail in his garage and burying it in his yard because he was overwhelmed by the amount of direct advertising he was supposed to deliver.

But Padgett, who has diabetes and heart problems, has never received a single complaint about any missing junk mail. After a utility worker noticed bins of mail stacking up in his yard, Padgett was given probation in federal court.

His customers may be rallying to his cause and calling him a hero, but the Direct Marketing Association, representing more than 3,400 advertisers, wasn’t pleased with his actions.

What do you think? Is Padgett a hero, or just an employee who found a way to slack off on the job?

In this recent case, a bank teller failed two polygraph tests administered by the local police and FBI after an attempted robbery of the branch. Managers at the bank learned the employee had failed the exams, although no further specifics were given by the police. Shortly after, the employee was let go.

Days later, he sued the bank, claiming his rights under the Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) were violated. A court agreed, noting although the bank couldn’t be sued for “passive acceptance” of the lie detector results — i.e., knowing the results of the exam — it could be prosecuted for improperly using those results.

Even if the test results weren’t the sole reason the employee was terminated, all he needed to do was show the bank “used” or “referred to” the polygraphs to sue under the EPPA.

Cite: Worden v. Sun Trust Banks, U.S. Crt. of Appeals, No. 07-1354.

After a 2007 Supreme Court ruling claimed that greenhouse gases emitted by flatulence or belching amounted to air pollution, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) now plans to impose extra fees on cattle farmers.

According to EPA’s proposal, farms or ranches with more than 25 dairy cows, 50 heads of cattle or 200 hogs would have to pay an annual fee of $175 per cow, $87.50 per head of beef cattle and $20 per hog to offset air pollution from the animals’ various bodily functions. On average, it would cost owners of a medium-sized cattle ranch $40,000 in extra fees.

Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks claims the move is “one of the most ridiculous things the federal government has tried to do,” and that the fees would likely bankrupt a majority of ranch and farm owners.

EPA claims the fee would cover the cost of a permit for approved livestock operations, and that it would force farmers to switch to healthier crops. The agency’s not alone in its fight, either. A spokesperson for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) claimed the move would make “perfect sense if they’re looking for ways to cut down on meat consumption and recoup environmental losses.”