This is no time to be loafing

This is no time to be loafing

No one should be happier about the firing of two Trumbull County employees for misuse of their time than taxpayers — except those county employees who put in a full day’s work for a day’s pay and should resent freeloaders in their midst.

The case that the county built against two employees in the county Sanitary Engineer’s Department was strong. Using GPS to track the whereabouts of vehicles assigned to the employees over a three-week period in September, supervisors found that the employees often spent more time at home or at locations not connected to their duties than on the job.

Lori Graham of Columbiana and David Harper of Niles were hired to inspect water and sewer connections, but also had other duties that should have demanded their attention during slack periods. Tracking the vehicles the employees were assigned using GPS systems showed what most people would consider a shocking abuse — one that could well rise above employee misconduct to theft of services. Accepting hundreds of dollars in pay for work that wasn’t provided is more than simple malingering.

At a time when taxpayers are demanding that government provide more with less, the efforts of honest, hard-working employees should be appreciated. And abuses should be punished — with discipline up to an including firing and with criminal charges when appropriate.

Technology provides new tools to monitor how employees are using their time — especially employees who punch a time clock and hit the road. There’s no invasion of an employee’s privacy when GPS is used to make sure that employees are where they are supposed to be and doing what they are paid to do.

And we suspect there is no shortage of people who would be happy to have the jobs that become available through the firing of those who don’t take their work seriously.