Five Long Island school districts incorrectly classified their attorney as an employee rather than an independent contractor and erroneously reported the attorney to the New York State and Local Retirement System, according to an audit released Friday by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

“There are guidelines for school districts and municipalities to follow in determining whether or not someone performing professional services should be eligible for state pension credits,” DiNapoli said. “Mr. Reich’s work for the school districts we audited did not meet those guidelines. He was not an employee.

“Our audit determined that the school districts involved should send corrected retirement reports to the retirement system so my office can make necessary adjustments to Mr. Reich’s pension benefit.”
The five school districts, Baldwin, Bellmore-Merrick, Copiague, East Meadow and Harborsfields, had no formal procedures to distinguish between employees and independent contractors. As a result, the districts incorrectly classified Lawrence Reich as an employee. They put him on their payroll and reported him to the retirement system.

The audit identified numerous factors that determined Reich should not be classified as an employee, including:
district officials at all five schools did not supervise, control or direct how Reich performed his work;
none of the districts provided Reich with a workplace or facility; and
none of the districts set established hours for Reich or had documentation indicating the days or hours worked.

The audit recommends the districts submit corrected retirement reports to the New York State and Local Retirement System. All of the districts agreed with the audit’s finding that Reich was not an employee of the districts and should not have been reported to the retirement system.

The retirement system will send letters to the districts asking them to correct Reich’s credits in the retirement system so necessary adjustments can be made to Reich’s pension benefit.

DiNapoli’s office is also reviewing the employment status of individuals with professional titles at certain school districts and municipalities across the state.