A recent article published by Investigative Post has reported that an employee named Jill Repman, formerly known as Jill Parisi, has allegedly been paid over half a million dollars over the last seven years for work she did not do. Jill Repman, who worked as a clerk in the fire department, was placed on administrative leave in 2016 due to allegations of changing her Social Security/Medicare FICA deductions to increase her net pay. However, the disciplinary charges against her were never resolved, and she remained on the city's payroll.
During this time, it was discovered that Jill Repman was also working a second job at a home-care agency called Allwel Western New York, according to her now-deleted profile on the company's website. The Investigative Post's report states that she received a total of $572,067 in payments from the City of Buffalo since 2016, based on state payroll records compiled by government watchdog The Empire Center.
Attempts to reach out to Buffalo City Hall for comment on this matter were not successful as they did not immediately respond to the request. Similarly, a call made to Allwel's payroll department was not returned, and Jill Repman could not be reached for comment.
This case highlights the issue of overemployment, where workers hold multiple full-time jobs without informing their employers. While some white-collar workers claim that juggling multiple jobs has helped them double their salaries, there are potential risks, such as being discovered by their employers.
The concept of "fake work," where employees are paid for little or no actual work, has also gained attention, especially in the tech sector. CEOs, like Keith Rabois of Shopify aggregator OpenStore and Thomas Siebel of artificial-intelligence company C3.ai, have stated that the recent wave of layoffs in the industry is a correction to the overhiring during the pandemic tech boom. They have referred to some of the laid-off employees as engaged in "fake work," simply attending meetings without substantive tasks.
The issue of employees being hired but not given meaningful work has been acknowledged by some workers themselves. For example, a laid-off Meta worker named Britney Levy shared her experience on TikTok, describing how she was placed in a group of individuals who weren't actually working. She mentioned that employees had to fight to find work, implying that they were being underutilized.
In conclusion, the case of Jill Repman raises concerns about the misuse of administrative leave and the continuation of paying an employee while allegations against them remain unresolved. It also highlights the broader issues of over employment and "fake work" that have been observed in various industries.