DC employee fined $25,000 for working second full-time job on government time

A Washington, D.C., government official has resigned after the city’s ethics board found she had been secretly working a separate full-time job and serving as an elected official in Virginia on government time.

Caroline Lian earned $175,000 per year as deputy director of the District of Columbia Department of Buildings while also earning a six-figure salary at Freddie Mac, according to a report from the District of Columbia Board of Ethics and Accountability.

Lian, who joined the DOB in 2022, reportedly maintained a hybrid work schedule at the agency, coming into the office on Mondays and Fridays and working remotely the rest of the week.

Meanwhile, she worked the opposite schedule as a risk management director at Freddie Mac, coming into the office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays while working remotely on Mondays and Fridays, according to the settlement agreement signed by Lian.

She failed to report her employment with Freddie Mac on her financial disclosure statement for 2022 and 2023, according to the ethics board.

Lian also served as a city councilwoman in Falls Church, Virginia, on a part-time basis. Although she disclosed her position on the city council to the DOB, the ethics board found she attended council meetings while still reporting a full day’s work in D.C. on more than 10 occasions.

“The Department of Buildings has accepted the employee’s resignation effective immediately and she is no longer employed by District government,” a DOB spokesman said in a statement.

Under the terms of the settlement, Lian has agreed to pay a $25,000 fine and attend ethics training.

The report comes after District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser in January ordered city employees to limit their remote work to one day per week.

“It’s about the services that we provide to our residents, and we are a local government, and we need to be there to do that,” Bowser said.

The DOB spokesman said the department “will be taking additional steps to ensure that all employees follow required practices.”