He billed the government for four months of work he never did — and his teleworking boss never noticed

The Washington Post: A federal patent examiner racked up more than 18 weeks of pay last year for work he didn’t do, but his manager didn’t notice until he received an anonymous letter claiming the employee only showed up for his job sporadically and turned in work that was “garbage.”

The letter turned out to be spot on, according to an investigation released this week by the watchdog for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The examiner, a poor performer for years who was never disciplined, came and went as he pleased, swiping his badge through the turnstile at the patent office headquarters in Alexandria, Va., where he was assigned to work.

Read article