The OIG investigated whether a senior U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) official inappropriately influenced the hiring of a university employee at DOI to work on a special project through an Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) agreement between DOI and a public university. IPA agreements permit Federal agencies to temporarily hire employees from State and local governments and colleges and universities. We investigated the use of the IPA agreement, including why the official wanted to use the university employee as a consultant on the project, and why DOI paid for the university employee’s services during the lapse in appropriations while Federal employees were furloughed.
We found no evidence that the IPA agreement was used improperly or that the DOI official was inappropriately involved. We also found no evidence that any of the university employee’s compensation was improper.
This is a summary of an investigative report that we issued to the DOI Acting Chief of Staff.