A damning audit out of Utah State University Eastern found that an employee there had been failing to show up to work for two years — but was still being paid.
Administrators were aware of the situation with Warren Tyler Agner, the audit says, and allowed it to continue. That’s because they were friends with the staffer, including one associate department head who lived with him, and all covered for Agner so he could keep getting a paycheck, according to the findings.
The 24-page internal report was released to The Salt Lake Tribune through a public records request. And it shows a troubling pattern where Agner’s absence was repeatedly reported, but three administrators ignored those concerns.
In the end, Agner was paid $157,470 in salary and benefits — from roughly summer 2021 to fall 2023 — while not doing his work overseeing the local Custom Fit and Small Business Development Center programs.
But the issue didn’t end there. Agner was supposed to be in charge of two programs that supported businesses in the counties surrounding Price, many of which have struggling economies as they try to find new sources of revenue outside of mining.
The audit says Agner failing to show up left those businesses without money they sorely needed. And while it’s hard to quantify, it likely harmed growth in the area.
And more broadly, the report points out that a culture of favoritism and inappropriate workplace reporting chains was underlying and supporting his absence. Accounting practices were shoddy. HR policies had not been updated since 1999.
The auditors provided a lengthy list of recommendations for the school to implement moving forward. And USU Spokesperson Amanda DeRito has promised that those will be addressed, with some already completed.
“As a result of the audit, oversight of employees will be improved,” she said, “as will enforcement of USU’s attendance and hiring policies.”
Here is a breakdown of exactly what the school will need to do to course-correct.
1. Update the school’s nepotism and cronyism policy
The auditors slammed Utah State for having a barebones policy on nepotism in the workplace.
The school’s rules, at the time of the investigation, had not been updated since 1999 — 25 years ago.
As it was written, the outdated policy only banned relatives working directly under relatives. It did not include other relationships, friendships or households members. And it did not include other conflicts, outside of direct reporting lines.
Utah’s code for state employees has those parameters, but it doesn’t apply to university employees. Auditors suggest that be used as a model for the school to rewrite its policy.
A large part of what happened in the situation was based on reporting lines and friendships. Agner was hired to work under Ethan Migliori, the director of noncredit training. Migliori reported to Jamie Cano, the associate head of the technical education department at USU Eastern. And Cano reported to Bryan Warnick, the department head.
Migliori, Cano and Warnick all told auditors that they were friends with Agner. And Cano and Agner lived together, but they never told the school that.
(Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)
At one point, after HR had reached out to Migliori with concerns, Warnick told him: “I am happy to do whatever is necessary” to keep Agner employed. The auditors say Migliori felt pressure to abide.
The HR office later recommended Cano be fired; the school removed his administrative responsibilities, but he resigned before further action was taken. USU fired Agner. Migliori and Warnick both remain in their positions.
The school responded in the audit and noted the family and relatives policy has already been rewritten. It is now waiting for final approval from the USU Board of Trustees.
2. Pay back certain expenses
The money for Agner’s salary came out of Custom Fit and Small Business Development Center funds. Those are allocated by the Utah Legislature and grants. One of the grants used, in this case, came from the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity.
The school is required to pay back the money that should have been used to support local businesses.
The problem is: USU says “there is not a clear path” to reclaim the misappropriated salary and benefits paid out.
Instead, the university has already moved the unallowable expenses to another index — meaning the money was replaced in the business programs’ budgets, but it was taken out of another account where it could have been used for another purpose. That fixes the policy violations but not the shortfall.
And it ultimately means that the taxpayers who fund the public school will eat the cost — with no return for the spending.
3. Accurately report employee absences
Another issue highlighted in the report is that while Agner was absent, he never submitted requests for sick or vacation time. He just didn’t show up, and Migliori didn’t record it.
The auditors say that is unacceptable for a manager. Going forward, Migliori will be required to compile an accounting of his team’s absences and follow up with HR monthly to make sure those are properly recorded.
The audit also says that Agner had some health issues and had applied for leave. It doesn’t note if that was granted or delayed in some way.
Auditors say there should be a review of if the school’s HR office is responding to requests in a timely manner, and Migliori should also be a part of that, if requests are being held up by him.
4. Better advertise the business programs
Each year that Agner was in charge of the Custom Fit program, there were significant funds — more than 25% of the total budget each year — left over. Custom Fit dollars are, ideally, all to be given out annually without any carryover, according to the guidance from the Utah System of Higher Education, which administers the program.
Not using all of the funds, the audit says, indicates insufficient efforts to reach out to businesses.
The auditors instruct the Custom Fit manager, who is now Migliori, to ensure that there is not excessive rollover. To do so, they say there needs to be better advertising of the program and how it can help businesses.
This will help businesses in the area to grow, according to the audit, and fulfill the purpose of the funding. If the money continues to not be used, the audit advises that the state potentially allocate less for the region.
5. Fix budgeting practices
One employee told auditors that he “didn’t know of any documented policies for how to use Custom Fit funds,” according to the report.
The program is supposed to pay companies for half of the cost of training employees. And each school is instructed to come up with parameters and policies.
USU had no caps, though, and a large share of the dollars — 36.2% — allocated from July 2021 to November 2023 went to just three companies; and one of those, alone, got 16.9%. The rest was split between 93 other businesses in the region, according to the audit.
Auditors say there should be clear and established guidelines for how to use the Custom Fit dollars. Roger Koyle, who was hired in April 2023 to oversee Custom Fit and the Small Business Development Center, put in a cap of $10,000 per company in reimbursement from the program.
The audit says he also required documented proof of training expenses and a roster from companies of who attended. It was a good cleanup, the report notes, for accounting purposes.
But Koyle was demoted by Migliori, according to emails, when he started asking questions about why Agner’s pay was included in his budget. Migliori removed the Custom Fit responsibilities from Koyle’s job description and kept Agner on the payroll.
Initially, when a tip about the situation first came to the Utah Attorney General’s Office, it raised concerns that the money in the programs wasn’t being spent properly. The USU auditors say they could eventually account for all of the funds, but poor budgeting practices made it difficult.
DeRito responded: “The management of the Custom Fit program will be improved by clear and codified procedures and a more accessible accounting structure.”
Without that, the auditors warn, the unsubstantiated payroll expenses have the potential to jeopardize future state appropriations and grant awards.
