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Posted: 5:47 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012

Inspector General: Area workers comp supervisor claimed commute as work time

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By Josh Sweigart

Staff Writer

An Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation supervisor was billing the state for her commute to and from work, and appeared to be driving her state-issued vehicle long before and after her work day, according to a report released Tuesday.

The report from the Ohio Office of the Inspector General calls for the agency to conduct further review to determine whether this is an isolated incident. The worker in question lives in Cincinnati and works at the Ohio BWC office south of Mason.

“Was there oversight? The answer is ‘not enough,’ ” Ohio deputy inspector general Carl Enslen said in an interview Tuesday.

After receiving a complaint, the OIG reviewed three years of mileage records for Kim Pandilidis — a supervisor in the division that investigates workers compensation fraud — and found 67 cases in which she claimed business mileage close to her 54-mile round trip commute and did not provide documentation on the purpose for travel, the report says.

Pandilidis told investigators she considered herself on the clock when she stopped at a gas station — most frequently a United Dairy Farmers near her house in western Cincinnati — on her way to work, though agency policy explicitly says the work day doesn’t start until an employee arrives at the workplace.

Investigators also found more than a dozen times when fuel was purchased more than an hour before or after her workday.

“Why such a long time between the time you get to work or leave work and when you get home … when the distance is 27 miles? It doesn’t make sense,” Enslen said. “The rules are in the policy for that agency and many agencies that you may not stop an automobile that belongs to the state of Ohio for anything but a business purpose or an emergency.”

The Ohio BWC has a fleet of 216 vehicles. The Ohio BWC is the largest state-funded insurance system in the nation, serving approximately 256,000 employers and 1.2 million injured workers.

The inspector general’s report recommends that Ohio BWC contemplate adminstrative action against Pandilidis and conduct a random sample of agency employees with state-issued take-home vehicles.

Pandilidis could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Bill Teets, spokesman for the Ohio BWC, said his agency is considering what steps to take. He said Pandilidis faces “serious disciplinary action” but not likely termination.

“We obviously are disappointed this individual failed to follow policy,” he said. “We don’t have any reason to believe it’s a widespread issue.”

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