A whistleblower pointed state investigators to an unnamed, high-ranking law enforcement officer who was using California’s statewide law enforcement telecommunication network to find the home addresses and vehicle information of a deputy district attorney, a county supervisor and six of his employees.
The officer’s illegal use of the network was among the findings in a report on “improper activities” by California state workers. The California State Auditor’s report is known for shining a light over the years on a sleeping DMV worker, nepotism and expensive mistakes.
The report does not name names. It’s meant to prod departments into tidying up their practices. The State Auditor’s office said in the new report on Thursday that it would not even identify where the law enforcement officer worked because doing so could lead to his identification.
The whistleblower investigation found the officer used the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System out of personal curiosity. He told investigators he looked up his employees as part of a threat assessment, though he never took any official steps to act on the information.
He also searched for himself and his family members, along with 65 vehicles listed for sale online. One of his family members bought a car the officer had searched for, according to the auditor’s report.
The unnamed state law enforcement agency took “appropriate personnel action” after learning of the audit’s findings, the report said. The agency also shared the audit’s findings with a local district attorney, who declined to press charges.
The report also found:
Two employees of the State Controller’s Office, which handles payroll for state employees, improperly telecommuted from Idaho, Alabama and Tennessee.
A California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection employee improperly used a state vehicle to commute to work for five years, costing the state $42,000. He also charged $27,000 in commuting time on his timesheets. The department took “appropriate action” in response to the findings, the audit said.
A new hire at the Department of Education told investigators his relationship to his hiring manager was “like brother and sister” during an investigation into nepotism. The audit found that the manager violated the other job candidates’ rights when she helped secure a job for the employee, who was a childhood friend. The department dismissed the manager as a result of the audit and sought to rescind the employee’s hiring
In other auditor news, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have given more power to the inspector general overseeing the California High-Speed Rail Authority. Read more by CalMatters’ Yue Stella Yu.
We’re bringing our voter guide to life through VotingMatters events across California, in collaboration with on-the-ground partners. Our next event is at 5 p.m. today in Lynwood at Bateman Hall, 11331 Ernestine Ave. We’ll be there with CALÓ News and Southeast Los Angeles Collaborative.
Other Stories You Should Know
New reporter on a brand-new beat
It’s always a great day at CalMatters when we get to introduce a new reporter to you. Today, we’re welcoming Melanie Henshaw to CalMatters as our new Indigenous Affairs reporter. She’ll work in partnership with ICT and cover issues impacting Indigenous people across California. Melanie is a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.
She joins CalMatters from InvestigateWest, where she covered Indigenous communities in the Northwest and issues of tribal sovereignty, law enforcement and the environment. While there, she illuminated killings of Native Americans by a small federal agency, prompting a federal civil rights lawsuit, and uncovered policing disparities facing Indigenous communities. Her work has been published in the Associated Press, Washington Post and SFGate. Based in the Bay Area, Henshaw is a graduate of the University of Oregon.
Reach her at melanie@calmatters.org or through the encrypted messaging app Signal at @mhenshaw.01.
Lyft to pay drivers in record-breaking settlement
Lyft, the rideshare company that helped write the law classifying its drivers as independent contractors, will pay out the largest misclassification settlement in state history.
Lyft is on the hook for $237 million to thousands of people who drove for the company between April 2016 and December 2020. Drivers will be eligible for compensation based on the number of miles and hours they drove.
The company denied drivers minimum wage, overtime and reimbursement for work-related expenses, according to the settlement, which consolidated lawsuits by drivers, the state, three cities and the state Labor Commissioner’s Office.
San Diego City Attorney Heather Ferbert warned that an even bigger rideshare company could be next.
Ferbert: “If Uber doesn’t want to come to the table and talk about a meaningful settlement,” the case against the company could go to trial.
Read more here by CalMatters’ Levi Sumagaysay.
New slavery disclosure law
A first-in-the-nation law by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan will impose a corporate disclosure requirement on profits from chattel slavery. The Truth in Disclosure Act will require major companies operating in the state to disclose historical and financial ties to enslavement-related transactions. Read more here by CalMatters’ Wendy Fry.
California Voices
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: Things are tough all over, but Californians don’t show much appetite for change in their statewide elected officials. Democrats are likely to maintain supermajorities in both houses of the Legislature.
Other things worth your time:
Political backlash in California’s Trumpiest town // Wall Street Journal (gift link)
Colleges don’t have enough housing for students. Will these 4 new laws help? // CalMatters (free)
The California colleges where popular majors lead to top pay // Los Angeles Times (paywall)
California just made it legal to turn balconies into tiny power plants // Grist (free)
Immigration agents target psychology professor convicted in killing of man she says raped her // Orange County Register (gift link)
It’s going to be really hot this month — and it’s going to last // LAist (free)
‘I know she’s a liar’: Director reveals more about Elizabeth Holmes documentary // SFGate (free)
$10 million settlement following Fresno in-custody death // Fresnoland (free)
Multi-family housing boom unfolding in Sacramento region // Abridged (free)