The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Hearing on Time and Attendance Issues at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Record date · January 1, 2017
Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.
What This Bill Does
This hearing addressed a 2016 Inspector General report that identified significant discrepancies between hours claimed by patent examiners and actual computer activity logs. The report estimated that nearly 290,000 hours were unsupported, representing approximately $18.3 million in potential taxpayer waste.
The hearing examines the management of federal employee timekeeping and performance metrics at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, where unsupported work hours may have contributed to a backlog of over 540,000 patent applications.
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Patent Examiners
Their timekeeping records and performance ratings were the subject of the OIG audit and subsequent congressional hearing.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
The agency is responsible for managing the patent application backlog and overseeing employee time and attendance policies.
Key Facts
- The Office of Inspector General (OIG) identified 288,479 unsupported work hours by patent examiners over a 15-month period.
- The unsupported hours represent an estimated $18.3 million in potential waste.
- The analysis covered nearly 8,400 patent examiners.
- 415 examiners had 10 percent or more of their reported hours listed as unsupported.
Show all 8 facts
- 310 examiners who received above-average performance ratings accounted for nearly 98,000 of the unsupported hours.
- The current patent application backlog stands at 540,000 cases.
- The unsupported hours could have potentially addressed 15,990 patent application cases.
- The OIG compared certified work hours against VPN and computer workstation activity logs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 'unsupported hours' mean in this context?
How many patent applications are currently waiting to be processed?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceFull breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Performance vs. Attendance Disconnect
The document reveals a significant number of employees with high performance ratings who simultaneously had high rates of unsupported work hours.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.govinfo.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance85How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy75Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment40Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
Publisher tools