NCDOT workers viewed porn, played games at work, records show

RALEIGH, N.C. — Some North Carolina Department of Transportation workers watched porn, played games and spent more than half their days on non-work-related websites, according to records obtained by Channel 9.

Channel 9 received the documents in a public records request for investigations done by the department's Office of Inspector General.

Dozens of the reports monitored employees' computer usage throughout 2014 and 2015. While some indicated that the workers spent no time or 1 percent of their time on their computers, several were above 50 percent.

Among those, one of the reports indicated that the "employee engaged in viewing pornographic images on several days."

Another report said the employee spent 61 percent of his or her computer activity on personal use, and a "majority of this use was on Facebook and playing Candy Crush."

"Citizens have a right to expect that folks who work for the state are doing their job," State Rep. Kelly Alexander, D-Mecklenburg County, said.

Alexander is a member of a transportation committee.

"There are a lot of things that could have been done with the money that just was inappropriately used," Alexander said.

The documents also contain an estimated financial loss to the department by calculating the wasted time along with each worker's salary. The combined reports from 2014 and 2015 total more than $150,000 in lost taxpayer dollars.

"Whenever a public employee has enough time to be able to go to porn sites, or play games while they are supposed to be working, that's distressing," Alexander said.

Channel 9 requested an interview with an investigator or NCDOT leadership. The department agreed to make a representative available.

Spokesman Steve Abbott said anyone, even a citizen, can make a complaint about alleged wrongdoing, and the department's inspector general will look into it. The department said the OIG reports are an example of checks and balances designed to make sure workers are staying efficient.

"You're going to have some people that will take advantage of it," Abbott said.

Abbott was not able to say why the department doesn't have technology that blocks employees from logging onto sites that contain pornography.

"There probably is a way to do that. You would have to talk to somebody in IT," Abbott said.

He later checked with the department's IT personnel and found that they are looking into purchasing software that could block sites. No timetable was given for that process.

Abbott could not discuss disciplinary action taken against employees because of privacy concerns, but he said there is a zero tolerance policy for any employee caught viewing pornography.

WSOC