The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is conducting an internal review of staff compliance with time and attendance requirements.
The action follows a recent Inspector General report and Congressional inquiry related to the matter.
Specifically, in April 2025, the CFTC’s Office of Inspector General completed an investigation into telework violations by a CFTC risk analyst who was also the president of the CFTC’s employee union. The investigation substantiated various allegations of misconduct, including timekeeping misconduct, false or misleading statements under oath, administrative leave violations, and prohibited political activity under the Hatch Act.
Further, an inquiry by the Senate Judiciary Committee also raised concerns that the employee jeopardized national security by placing sensitive government and CFTC-regulated entities’ data at risk when he resided in or traveled to more than a half dozen foreign countries with his government-issued devices.
“As I said in April, I am disturbed by the accounts of serious misconduct outlined in the Inspector General’s report, and the CFTC will fully respond to the Congressional inquiry to provide the transparency and accountability expected of a federal agency,” Acting CFTC Chairman Caroline Pham said. “As such, the CFTC is conducting a comprehensive internal review of staff time and attendance, including compliance with telework, return-to-office and reasonable accommodation requirements, in order to identify violations and fraud, waste and abuse. The CFTC is committed to taking necessary corrective actions, and we owe it to the public to uncover the extent to which the American taxpayers were defrauded.”
The internal review will cover the period from January 1, 2020, to the present. The scope of the review will include areas such as internet protocol activity, verification of medical and hardship accommodations, prohibitions and conflicts of interest related to outside employment, and an audit of time and attendance records. This review is administrative in nature and applies to all current FTEs.