WASHINGTON — A top VA official in Colorado was cited by agency investigators Tuesday for habitually arriving late to her Lakewood office and missing as many as 14 work days without explanation over a four-year period.

The findings by the Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs — the agency’s internal watchdog — concluded with the recommendation that VA leaders consider penalizing Melanie Murphy, director of the Denver regional benefit office, and recouping her salary from the 14 days she missed between January 2011 and December 2014.

“As a senior leader, Ms. Murphy is held to a higher standard and should set the tone for her subordinates to follow, and arriving late to work over 70 percent of her workdays diminishes her position and authority as a senior leader,” noted the investigators in their report.



Further, they said Murphy had “improperly teleworked for about 6 months” and that she did not properly manage a way to track office work hours.

“Unfortunately, she failed to establish a culture of accountability for time and attendance, and time and attendance recordkeeping was too lax to provide an accurate accounting of the time she worked,” they added.

Asked about the report, Murphy sent a statement through a VA spokeswoman that contested its conclusion.

“I have read the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) report. I disagree with the findings and will contest,” Murphy wrote.

She did not respond to follow-up questions.