Report Contents
What OIG Reviewed
The Department of State Authorities Act requires bureaus, posts, and offices to report allegations of criminal activity by an employee and serious misconduct committed by senior level officials or law enforcement officers, as well as allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse to the Office of Inspector General (OIG). OIG initiated this evaluation to determine the Department’s compliance with this reporting requirement, specifically: (1) whether the Department provided sufficient guidance on the reporting requirement; and (2) whether the Department reports all applicable allegations within the designated timeframe.
What OIG Recommends
OIG made two recommendations to the Office of the Under Secretary for Management to coordinate with affected stakeholders to: (1) develop standard guidance for all reporting entities clarifying which allegations the Department should report to OIG under the Authorities Act, including definitions of “serious misconduct” and “head of the Department entity;” and (2) develop a standard approach to tracking the reporting of allegations to OIG.
What OIG Found
OIG reviewed guidance issued by the Department to inform bureaus, posts, and offices of their reporting responsibilities under the Authorities Act and spoke with bureau officials about this guidance. The guidance is of limited utility as it simply quotes the language in the Authorities Act statute. Neither the law nor Department guidance define key terms such as “serious misconduct” or office “head,” thus leaving bureaus to interpret which allegations to report. OIG found that additional clarifying guidance would be helpful to bureau officials to ensure uniform compliance with the Authorities Act.
To assess compliance rates and timeliness of Authorities Act reports to OIG, OIG attempted to compare allegations it received under the Authorities Act from October 1, 2018, through September 30, 2019, from three Department of State (Department) bureaus—the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, the Bureau of Global Talent Management, and the Bureau of Consular Affairs—with related records maintained by the three bureaus. However, due to variances in how the Bureaus and OIG record and report Authorities Act data, OIG was unable to determine exact rates of compliance or timeliness, although OIG did find that the Bureaus were making good faith efforts to comply with the Act.
Report Terms
Report Recommendations
The Under Secretary for Management should develop standard guidance for all reporting entities, clarifying which allegations the Department should report to OIG under the Authorities Act and defining the terms “serious misconduct” and “head of the Department entity,” and include affected stakeholders in the development of the guidance.
The Under Secretary for Management should develop a standard approach to tracking reporting dates to ensure compliance with the law and update internal guidance accordingly.