Some garbage truck drivers in Jacksonville have accumulated more than $50,000 in overtime, according to an investigation

JACKSONVILLE, Florida. – A new report from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigated allegations that drivers at the Jacksonville Solid Waste Division may have received tens of thousands of dollars in unjustified overtime pay.

The investigation began in October 2023 and looked at overtime worked in the previous year.

The investigation found that some drivers were making over $50,000 in overtime, and one even earned over $100,000 extra.

The OIG conducted several interviews in which two employees admitted to working on garbage collectors’ personal vehicles during work hours.

They said they did this during their breaks and denied claiming more overtime.

The OIG said its review revealed a pattern of inconsistent and incomplete documentation of work hours.

Most of the garbage truck driver reports reviewed during these periods were incomplete or illegible and were rarely signed by a supervisor.

Ultimately, the OIG concluded that it was impossible to verify the overtime hours worked.

An employment lawyer said this is usually the case in an understaffed office.

“You would think that you could solve this problem by hiring more people, changing the structure or something like that,” says Tad Delegal, an attorney at Delegal, Poindexter and Underkofler.

Delegal said he has worked on similar cases before, but in this case the employees are unlikely to face criminal charges.

“Because the investigation showed they couldn’t prove fraud. Instead, they said it could have been legitimate. They could have worked those hours legally,” he said.

The OIG had two recommendations for the future of the Solid Waste Division.

First, identify positions that are likely to require significant overtime and develop sufficient internal controls to ensure that those employees work the hours they report. Also, require supervisors to review the hours worked by their employees and keep accurate records.

News4JAX reached out to the head of the solid waste department for comment but did not receive a response.