Modesto looking into moonlighting employee

Modesto is investigating whether one of its wastewater supervisors violated the city’s sick leave policy while working a second job at Oakdale’s sewer treatment plant.

Plant Operations Supervisor Joel Lindsey worked part time for Oakdale from June 2014 to August 2015 while working full time for Modesto. The apparent problem is that on 12 days Lindsey took sick leave in Modesto while working for Oakdale, according to his time cards for both cities.

The time cards show he took six full and six partial days of sick leave while working one to three hours each on those days for Oakdale. The time cards show how many hours were worked on a particular day but not when they were worked.

Lindsey referred questions to labor representative Kim Gillingham with Goyette & Associates, the law firm that represents the Modesto Confidential and Management Association. Lindsey is a member of the association.

Gillingham said Lindsey received permission from Modesto to work a second job. She said he was a part-time consultant for Oakdale and averaged less than 25 hours a month. She said Lindsey did not work for Oakdale when he was supposed to be working for Modesto or when he was on paid leave from Modesto.

“At no time did Mr. Lindsey perform services for the City of Oakdale while on duty or paid leave from the City of Modesto,” she said in an email. “There is currently an investigation into whether or not Mr. Lindsey worked for the City of Oakdale while receiving paid sick leave from the City of Modesto.

“We are confident that the investigation will reveal that any work performed for the City of Oakdale on a day Mr. Lindsey was on paid sick leave from the City of Modesto was limited to fielding phone calls or performing telecommuting duties outside normal business hours for which he received paid leave from the City of Modesto.”

Oakdale Public Services Director Thom Clark said he hired Lindsey on a temporary, part-time basis because the wastewater facility’s chief plant operator had retired. Clark said the state requires someone with what is called a grade IV certificate to direct plant operations. Clark said he knew Lindsey and Lindsey had the certificate and qualifications.

Clark said he knew Lindsey worked for Modesto but said Lindsey told him he could make both jobs work. Clark said Lindsey worked from home and at the plant but could not provide a breakdown. He said the sewer plant operates 24/7, and Lindsey could have to go to the plant at night to handle a problem. Oakdale officials said Lindsey worked 366 hours and was paid $27,450 over roughly 14 months. Lindsey has worked for Modesto since January 2011 and his salary is $90,744.

Modesto acting Deputy City Manager Joe Lopez confirmed the city is investigating Lindsey but declined to say more because the investigation is not complete. The city started looking into the issue after The Bee raised questions. Lopez said city employees are required to fill out a form and get permission from their department head to ensure there is no conflict of interest.

Lopez declined to comment on whether Lindsey had received permission. While Gillingham said Lindsey received permission, she declined to provide a copy of his form. The form is required to be updated annually.

Modesto has about 1,170 employees and 93 of them have permission to moonlight. Thirty-four of the moonlighters work in the Fire Department and 19 in the Police Department. Lopez said this is the first time in his four years with Modesto that the city has looked into an employee’s use of a second job.

This story was originally published December 19, 2015 at 3:26 PM with the headline "Modesto looking into moonlighting employee."