The South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission broke state law by not depositing fines because it worried legislators would use the money for something else, according to a state audit.
The commission collected but delayed for weeks depositing $244,000, the Legislative Audit Council said.
“This action was taken so that, in the event the General Assembly prohibited agencies from keeping their unexpended funds at the end of the fiscal year, the commission would not have these funds for the General Assembly to take away,” according to the report.
Failing to promptly deposit fines, fees, or any other funds violates state law.
The commission said that it only had intended to delay collecting the fines until the new fiscal year began in July. That decision wasn’t understood within the agency and instead staff delayed depositing fines for five weeks, the agency said.
Meanwhile, the council also said the commission isn’t doing enough to identify employers who don’t carry required workers’ compensation. The agency is supposed to have two compliance officers checking data with the state Department of Employment of Workforce and following up on at least 50 matches. The commission said that 50-employer check was set as a standard for compliance officers when the program started and it is not a sound benchmark for enforcing compliance.
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