ALLISON — A northern Iowa sheriff says improper employee payments uncovered by a state audit were errors caused by a misunderstanding of several policies.
The audit report of the Butler County Sheriff’s Office released Thursday says the improper payments totaled more than $57,000. It cited excess overtime and holiday pay for 26 employees from December 2014 through October 2018.
Auditors say the county paid overtime if employees worked more than eight hours in a single day.
The differs from the county and Fair Labor Standards Act policy that calculated overtime for law enforcement personnel working more than 171 hours in 28 days.
Sheriff Jason Johnson says the overtime issue had never been raised in regular state audits. He says his office immediately changed procedures when told about the error.