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A Utah State University Eastern staff member who didn’t show up for work for more than two years was still paid over $157,000 in salary and benefits while his administrator friends covered for him, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. The newspaper said the employee was living with one of the administrators.
The university hired Warren Tyler Agner in July 2021 to support rural local businesses, paying him with state funding and grants, the Tribune reported. Agner continued to receive paychecks even though he was never in the office and multiple staff members complained about his absence to the university.
After receiving a tip, the Utah attorney general’s office prompted the university to start an internal audit in July 2023, the Tribune reported. The university also conducted a human resources investigation; Agner was fired in January, the newspaper reported. Inside Higher Ed was unable to reach Agner Monday.
Affiliates of the university and of the programs Agner was supposed to work in told the Tribune that businesses were not receiving payments they relied on. The newspaper reported that Agner was living with Jamie Cano, who was then the campus’s associate department head over professional and technical education. Cano has since left the university.
Auditors accused Ethan Migliori, who was Agner’s direct supervisor and is still the Eastern director of noncredit training, of helping cover for Agner by doing his work, according to the Tribune. Brian Warnick, the technical education department head, also reportedly supported Agner, saying he would do whatever it took to ensure that his friend had access to health insurance. The audit said Agner had health issues and applied for leave but didn’t say whether that was granted, the newspaper reported.
On Tuesday, the university responded with a statement to Inside Higher Ed: "USU is confident in the action it has taken to hold employees accountable for failing to perform their required duties and failing to comply with USU policies. When issues of noncompliance arise, our system depends on employees reporting issues of concern so they can be properly investigated and addressed. In this case, our system worked, and our grant programs and employee management are stronger as a result. We want to reassure all employees that they should not be afraid to report anything they think is wrong."
