TAMPA - Agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement served the Hillsborough County administrator a subpoena Monday for sick leave records of County Attorney Emmy Acton.
"Two investigators from the (FDLE) came to see me this morning and asked for documents and presented a subpoena for records," Dan Kleman confirmed.
Kleman said the agents who interviewed him declined to discuss specifics of the session. He said the records are being assembled to supply the investigators.
The subpoena seeks "any and all leave/attendance records," including time sheets and annual sick leave requests since May 1, 2001. It comes just days after State Attorney Mark Ober referred the matter to the FDLE for assistance, though the subpoena indicates Ober is actually the one seeking the documentation.
Acton referred her sick leave record to Ober last month after an anonymous complaint - from someone purporting to be an employee - accused her of underreporting time off.
The allegation was among the first in a series of complaints about abusive treatment in her office, as well as about an office clothing sale that helped pay for a party at Acton's house.
Acton has since said there is some merit to the sick leave complaint. Her failure to report time off was inadvertent, she said.
She had her office staff review her calendars and cross check them with payroll records and turned up 192 hours - or nearly five weeks - of undeclared sick leave. She exhausted vacation hours to make up for the sick leave.
On Friday, Acton, who is diabetic, announced that she was going on medical disability for up to 90 days because of her worsening health. Acton formally submitted her leave request Monday.
In a memo to her staff and other county officials Monday, Acton said she will regularly talk with her staff to keep apprised of ongoing issues and will be available by phone from home. She held a meeting at her home Monday morning with her chief assistants, general counsel and office manager to discuss operations in her absence.
The memo appeared to be partly in response to concerns raised by Commissioner Jan Platt that Acton had appointed her own replacement in her absence, something Platt felt Kleman should do. In her memo, Acton said she had appointed one of her chiefs, Don Odom, as her deputy county attorney, but not acting county attorney - meaning Acton remains in charge.
"Any Commissioner, Constitutional Officer, Administrative staff, as well as members of my Office are always free to contact me directly or send me a note as they always have during my medical and vacation leave in the past," she wrote.
Kleman said he intends to contact Acton to clarify the matter further.
"I just want to make sure that I understand how the office will be functioning and who I should be contacting for various times when legal advice is needed," Kleman said.
Also, Monday, Kleman said he is responding to Acton's concerns about a survey of her office being conducted by KPMG, an accounting firm Kleman enlisted to conduct a review of Acton's office and investigate other hostile workplace claims. Acton says the survey questions are unfair and designed to paint a negative picture of her office.
Kleman, who hired the private consulting firm to investigate Acton's office, has asked the company to explain its methodology.
