UConn Overpaid $454K To Employees On Sabbatical, Audit Shows

CONNECTICUT — Two University of Connecticut employees were overpaid amounts totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars while on sabbatical leave, according to a newly-released State of Connecticut Auditors of Public Accounts Report from 2019, 2020, and 2021.

According to the report, the two employees were overpaid $355,514 and $98,649, respectively, 'incurring unnecessary costs not permitted by its bylaws.'

UConn’s bylaws state that sabbatical leave is for a period of one year and may be taken for a full period at half pay or for up to half the period at full pay, the report said.

The bylaws also state that UConn employees who do not return to the university for at least one year following completion of their sabbatical must return their sabbatical payments. However, four faculty members which UConn paid $289,569, did not do so, and the university did not seek the repayments, according to the report.

The university granted sabbatical leave to 327 employees and paid $10,736,386 for the program during the audited period, according to the report. Fifteen employees were selected for the audit.

The report states that UConn was told that it should adhere to its bylaws and the university agreed, adding that it will "develop a refreshed and appropriate [sabbatical leave] approval process."

Other problems outlines in the report include "excessive compensation" to employees who moved to a position that "required less time and effort."

"The University of Connecticut should compensate employees who step down from management at a level consistent with their new positions," the report said. "If higher compensation rates are warranted, the university should document the appropriateness of the new salaries."

In response, UConn said that “the university agrees that employees should generally be paid consistent with their positions and in those circumstances where there is deviation, the reasons for any such deviation are typically documented in their appointment letters."

The State of Connecticut Auditors of Public Accounts' prior audit report on the University of Connecticut contained 28 recommendations, according to the recent report. Ten have been implemented or otherwise resolved and 18 have been repeated or restated with modifications in the newly-audited period, the report said.