6 Florida deputies fired for allegedly ‘double dipping,’ filing false time sheets — robbing taxpayers of an estimated $14,000. Could you be risking your career through ‘overemployment’?

Deputy Henry Holmberg, Sergeant Brian Blackwell, Sergeant Wilfred Quick, Sergeant Joshua Huffmon and Sergeant Kellam Paolillo have been fired and face felony official misconduct and theft charges, according to news reports from First Coast News and News4JAX.

The investigation also found a sixth employee, Deputy Michael Brandon, guilty of submitting false time sheets including time when he was at home, but he accepted a pre-trial diversion disposition to avoid arrest. He has also been terminated.

The total amount said to be stolen from NCSO and taxpayers is $14,007.86

“A dollar is too much,” said News4JAX Crime and Safety Analyst Tom Hackney. “It’s a slap in the face of men and women in law enforcement who do it the right way, and those who don’t, tarnish the badge.”

What is ‘double dipping’?

Time theft — taking long lunches, logging off before the workday is over, or doing household tasks while you’re supposed to be working — became a major concern for employers during the pandemic.

Another more serious form of time theft is “double dipping,” and it involves being on the clock for one employer but working for another. In 2023, consulting firm McKinsey estimated that for a median-size S&P 500 company, 5% of its workforce is engaged in this practice. That report, which surveyed workers from the U.S., Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Singapore and the U.K., defines double dipping as “full-time salaried workers who hold two or more jobs simultaneously, likely without their employers’ knowledge.”

The NCSO said the deputies are allowed to “moonlight” or work a second job while off-duty, but it was “impermissible to be paid for an on-duty shift while being paid for an off-duty employment job at the same time.”

But when could simply having a second job land you in hot water?

Could you get in trouble for a second job?

U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics show that 8.7 million Americans work more than one job, with as many as 447,000 people working two full-time jobs.