Audit Finds CT DMV Unnecessarily Paid Six Employees on Leave

The Connecticut DMV is under scrutiny again. A state audit uncovered governance gaps, from excessive paid administrative leave to weak controls over dealer access, fleet-vehicle tracking, and overtime practices.

This blog post breaks down the findings and what they mean for cities across Connecticut—Hartford, Waterbury, Milford, and more. The agency’s response and steps to tighten policies in places like New Haven, Stamford, Bridgeport, Norwalk, Danbury, and Groton are also in the spotlight.

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Overview of the Audit and Its Implications

The recently released state audit looked at how the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles handled employee leave, vendor access, fleet operations, and compensation. Several long-standing concerns popped up in major towns and cities—Hartford, East Hartford, New Britain, Norwalk, and beyond.

The audit pointed out financial losses and systemic weaknesses. These issues could affect data security, accountability, and daily DMV operations statewide, including Stamford, Bridgeport, and Waterbury.

Paid Administrative Leave Findings

Auditors found that six DMV employees were paid a total of $131,943 in administrative leave. Of that, $107,240 went beyond the allowed 15 days for investigations into alleged serious misconduct.

The length of leave ranged from five to 132 days over the 15-day limit. That’s a pretty big gap in how investigations get funded and tracked.

Six employees received paid administrative leave that exceeded the statutory 15-day cap, causing a substantial overrun of state rule compliance.
The audit highlighted a pattern of weak controls over leave approvals and monitoring, an issue that’s stuck around for years. It raises questions about oversight in cities like Hartford, New Haven, Danbury, and Groton.
DMV officials admitted the problem and said they’ll work to align policies with state rules, while considering possible regulatory changes.

Suspended Dealer Accounts: IT Access and Deactivation

The audit flagged failures to quickly deactivate suspended or canceled dealer access to DMV systems. Of 18 dealer accounts reviewed, 13 stayed active for a wild 417 to 958 days after license termination.

This lag opens up risks for unauthorized access and data manipulation, affecting places from Stamford to Norwalk. The DMV said it’s started removing permissions for 242 dealers with canceled, expired, or suspended statuses.

They also pledged ongoing process improvements. Now, staff must follow up with IT after submitting deactivation requests, aiming to close the gap between license action and system access changes.

Fleet-Vehicle Management and Reporting

The fleet section of the audit found weak tracking and reporting around state vehicles. DMV didn’t keep a fleet-vehicle complaint log and closed two investigations without giving timely responses to the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) Fleet Operations within the 30-day window.

A December 2023 snapshot showed 86 state vehicles in use. 49 were home-garaged, and 27 employees didn’t have proper assignment approvals or documentation.

This lack of paperwork touches multiple municipalities—Hartford, Bridgeport, Waterbury, New London. It raises real concerns about accountability and safety in how state vehicles get used across Connecticut.

Compensatory Time and Overtime Practices

The audit found weaknesses in compensatory time and overtime management, including data integrity issues across 1,833 enrollments. 319 employees landed in the wrong compensatory plan, 17 employees earned both overtime and compensatory time in the same year, and several racked up unapproved overtime totaling $16,289.

These issues echo concerns from as far back as 2016–2020. Oversight and policy enforcement just haven’t kept up, impacting staff in cities like New Britain, Meriden, and Middletown.

Recommendations and DMV Response

Auditors offered a series of recommendations to strengthen internal controls and make sure the DMV complies with state rules. The report calls for the DMV, the Office of Policy and Management (OPM), and the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) to:

Stick to employee leave rules or push for regulatory changes to the 15-day investigation limit, if needed.
Tighten controls to quickly deactivate suspended or terminated dealer accounts and improve IT coordination for faster access changes.
Set up procedures to track vehicle complaints and make sure approvals and responses to DAS Fleet Operations happen on time.
Boost internal controls over compensatory time and overtime. This includes better Core-CT reporting and requiring commissioner-level sign-off for overtime approvals.

DMV officials agreed with the findings. They called the 15-day rule a barrier to thorough investigations, but said they’ll issue new policies, enhance tracking, and adopt stronger overtime controls.

The agency also signaled ongoing efforts to strengthen compliance with state leave rules and pursue regulatory changes as needed. They’re hoping to prevent future issues in towns and cities from Hartford to Stamford, Bridgeport, and Norwalk.

What This Means for Connecticut Residents

If you live in Connecticut—in places like Bridgeport, Stamford, Danbury, Groton, or East Hartford—this audit really puts a spotlight on how much strong oversight at the DMV matters.

Tightening up access controls and making sure leave and pay practices actually match state rules could help protect data and cut down on waste.

Better fleet-management oversight might even lead to smoother service in cities and towns all over, from New Haven and Waterbury to Norwich and Windham.

Here is the source article for this story: CT DMV ‘unnecessarily paid’ six employees on leave, audit finds

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