Florida nonprofit’s CEO given millions in paid time off
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The president of a nonprofit domestic abuse agency was twice given more annual paid days off than there are days in a year, figures that baffled House members during a hearing Monday on exorbitant spending at the agency.
Former Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence president and CEO Tiffany Carr was given 465 days of paid time off in the fiscal year that began in 2017 and 620 days of paid time off the next fiscal year, according to testimony during a hearing held by the House Public Integrity and Ethics Commission hearing.
Committee members grilled the current board chairwoman over compensation agreements she signed off on in 2016, 2017 and 2019 that included a total of 1,005 days of paid time off.
“How in the world can someone use 465 days of PTO in a 365-day year, a use it or lose it policy or not?” Committee Chairman Rep. Tom Leek asked Melody Keeth.
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“That obviously was a typo. It was a problem. We miscalculated,” Keeth replied.
“That is the understatement of the year,” Republican Rep. Randy Fine said.
The House is investigating why Carr was compensated about $7.5 million over her final three years with the coalition, much of it in accumulated paid time off. Carr resigned in November while the House was investigating her compensation. She cited health reasons. The Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times first raised questions about Carr’s salary in 2018.
The coalition is, by state law, the only agency that can funnel government money to organizations that help domestic violence victims. Lawmakers are on the verge of passing a bill that would strip the agency of its unique status in state law.
Keeth told lawmakers that although she signed the compensation memos to Carr, she didn’t prepare them. But she apparently didn’t read them carefully before signing them.
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She told lawmakers she was surprised when preparing for Monday’s hearing that the memos said the paid time off was in days, not hours. Keeth also said that the large amount of paid time off was to help Carr deal with serious health issues and didn’t think she could accumulate them.
But the language in the compensation memos clearly states that Carr could use the paid time off, cash them out or accumulate them.
“I could have never imagined that she would convert time we gave her to use for her illnesses into cash,” Keeth said.
Republican Rep. Jennifer Sullivan questioned the response.
“Why was that language even included? Then why was it given as an option in the memorandum if you thought that it would never be taken?” Sullivan asked.
“I could never imagine us being here today. The Tiffany Carr that I knew would not take all this PTO,” Keeth said.
Board member Laurel Lynch testified that she signed off on a compensation memo in 2018 paying Carr a base salary of $450,000, a $200,000 bonus, 160 paid days off and a $750 a month car allowance.
The memo was later revised to give Carr 620 days of paid time off.
“On what planet would you offer someone 620 days in one year when there’s only 365 days in a year?” Fine said. “What is the logic of providing 620 days of paid time off in a year that only has 365 days, of which only 260, by any stretch, could be considered work days?”
Lynch said the revisions were done without her knowledge.
Lynch, too, said she thought the paid time off was in hours, not days. She also said she thought there was a cap on the amount of unused paid time off can be cashed in upon leaving, like it is for other coalition employees. She said she didn’t realize there was language in Carr’s contract, which Lynch signed, that said she could cash in all unused paid time off.
“I believe I was deceived,” Lynch said.
Keeth and Lynch said the large amount of paid time off was given to Carr because she said she was going to need brain surgery.
“I didn’t think it was cumulative. I thought each year was a gift for that year,” Lynch said.
Keeth and Lynch also said they never verified the medical claims and that Carr, to their knowledge, didn’t use the leave.
“When she said she was going to have this surgery and ... no longer have this brain tumor, I truly believed that that was going to happen,” Lynch said.