BY PAUL BARTON
Enquirer Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- Far from saving taxpayers dollars, a work force restructuring effort at Fernald has cost at least $7 million more than it should and cut the number of employees by only 398, the U.S. Energy Department's inspector general says.
The problem has been an overuse of temporary workers, the inspector general's report said. The report, dated April 1, became available to the news media Monday.
Officials at Fluor Daniel and the Energy Department's Fernald office say they are not commenting on it because department officials are still reviewing its findings.
However, the report quotes department officials as pledging to require Fluor Daniel to end the practice of replacing permanent employees with temporary workers and to include temporary subcontractor costs in future work-force restructuring plans.
Fluor Daniel, the California-based contractor managing cleanup at the former uranium processing plant, had 2,412 permanent employees before restructuring efforts were started in 1994.
As of Dec. 31, 1997, the report said, the company had 2,014 permanent employees, a reduction of 398.
Moreover, the inspector general said, a major portion of the savings which would have flowed to the Energy Department for a reduction of 398 was offset by a $7 million increase in the cost of temporary workers.
The report said Fluor Daniel did not use temporary workers in "an economical and efficient manner" nor in accordance with Energy Department goals for work-force restructuring.
"Therefore, instead of paying $13.7 million to reduce the work force by 1,007 employees, as reported, the (Energy) Department actually paid more than $20 million to reduce Fluor Daniel's work force by only 398 employees," the inspector general said.
In addition, the Energy Department reimbursed Fluor Daniel for at least $405,000 for questionable employee separation costs. For instance, Fluor Daniel paid $278,000 to separate 14 employees when temporary service subcontractors in the same job classifications could have been released at no cost.
And too often, the report said, Fluor Daniel uses supposedly temporary workers for long-term jobs.
At least 39 temporary workers hired during one phase of the restructuring were placed in jobs with identical job classifications as the permanent employees.
"The (Energy Department's) Ohio Field Office did not effectively monitor Fluor Daniel's restructuring activities or its temporary service subcontractors to ensure that Fluor Daniel complied with department policy and contract terms," the report added.
