Republican members of the Delaware General Assembly are calling for legislative investigation into a Department of Labor embezzlement case.
Initial reporting from WHYY News found a former Delaware state employee stole over $180,000 from the state’s unemployment trust fund in 2023.
While the incident was made known to the public last month, some members of the General Assembly also noted it was their first time hearing about the embezzlement.
Following the initial article, the Delaware Coalition for Open Government (DelCOG) — a nonprofit organization that looks to promote transparency and accountability in government — filed a request to the General Assembly asking the body to "investigate the failure by state officials responsible for reporting the act of embezzlement in excess of $180,000 from the Delaware Department of Labor’s Division of Unemployment Insurance."
A statement from Senate Republicans in response reads, "“We agree with DelCOG’s letter and, too, call for a legislative branch investigation. Our caucus recently met with [Department of Labor]’s and Division of Unemployment Insurance’s administrative team to discuss what happened. Outside consultants have been brought in to analyze the deficiencies in the agency's systems that led to this happening. While we appreciate the Department's openness and willingness to meet, we believe, as elected leaders, that we must perform a separate inquiry to both rectify the issue and reestablish trust between the Department and the public we serve.”
In the letter, DelCOG notes per Delaware Code, filing written reports is a statutory requirement of postaudits by the Office of the Auditor of Accounts to the Governor, General Assembly and the public, including the disclosure of all illegal and unbusinesslike practices.
But in March, State Auditor Lydia York released the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report three months late with the disclaimer that the Delaware Unemployment Compensation Fund could not be audited due to a combination of outdated accounting systems and historic volumes of federal money during the pandemic.
However, a letter to legislative leadership from Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Karryl Hubbard and Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Rick Geisenberger dated June 4 says, "Once the theft was discovered, DOL leadership immediately notified the Department of Human Resources and the Department of Safety and Homeland Security. Within days, the employee suspected of the theft was placed on administrative leave and regrettably died later that same day."
The letter goes on to explain over the course of the following week, several other state and federal agencies were notified of the theft, including the Delaware State Police and members of the General Assembly who serve on the Unemployment Insurance Advisory Council.
House Republican Leader Mike Ramone says he did not receive word of the incident until just a few weeks ago, and he along with GOP colleagues in both chambers are questioning why the General Assembly was not immediately notified of the theft, with time running thin for legislative action as the session comes to a close at the end of June.
“I don’t want people perceiving, ‘oh this was slow walked, and they waited until July because they knew everybody would be out of session, and nobody would do anything, etc.' That’s why we felt it important to put out that letter of clarity," Ramone said.
Ramone is referring to the Departments of Labor and Finance planning to issue a report to the General Assembly in July, but his caucus’s letter asks Democratic leadership to take action as soon as possible.
“Is that July 1, is that July 30, is that, you know — gives me reason for pause that I feel that we should address an 'if-then'. When it comes out, 'if-then,' and we have that set up now or we set up a special time that we come back for a special session," he said.
If the General Assembly determines legislative action is needed following the report, the House Speaker must call a special session or business will be tabled until January 2025, therefore Ramone feels waiting to address the situation entirely until July could lead to delays in potential ramifications.
House Democratic leadership was not available for comment, but issued a statement saying upon receiving the promised report, they may consider calling a Joint Labor Committee hearing to review the findings and ask questions.
