Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations

HARTFORD � One in every 12 people hired into a vacant state position over the coming weeks will be quite familiar with the job � he or she will be the person who retired, leaving the position open.

Of the 990 vacant executive branch positions that Gov. Dannel P. Malloy will fill, 80 will be �temporary worker retirees,� or retired state employees who collect a paycheck and a pension at the same time, according to administration documents.

Driving the numbers was the wave of retirements ahead of changes to pension and health insurance that took effect in October. More than 2,700 workers retired before the deadline, including 630 employees whose retirements were effective Oct. 1.

That created more than 3,000 openings. Malloy will keep 2,300 of the positions open in his effort to shrink state government, and 990 will be refilled. Of those, 80 will be filled by the very employees who retired.

The figures are limited to the executive branch, which Malloy manages. Employees in higher education and in the judicial and legislative branches are managed separately.

Benjamin Barnes, Malloy�s budget director, told lawmakers this month that the rehires were approved according to the �individual needs of the position,� especially if the work is temporary or if it would take time to recruit or train a replacement.

The rehiring process is controversial and often referred to as �double dipping� because workers receive salaries and their full pensions. The contracts can be renewed for 120-day periods, and there is no limit to the number of renewals.

Former Gov. M. Jodi Rell, a Republican, issued an order limiting the salaries of rehired retirees to 75 percent of their pay when they retired. Rell also managed an influx of rehired retirees after a 2009 early retirement incentive that saw 3,900 state workers leave their posts. Rell authorized the rehiring of 509 executive branch retirees.

Here�s how Malloy�s rehires break down:

� 30 are seasonal Transportation Department employees who plow state roads. The temporary worker retiree system is ideal for such seasonal work, supporters say. An additional nine workers, mostly engineers, will be rehired in the DOT.

� Several human resources managers, including in the Revenue Services Department, the Office of Policy and Management, and the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

� Four employees in the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, who are tasked with cutting backlogs of criminal records, the sex offender registry, and special licensing and firearms permits.

� The highest-ranking rehire is the deputy commissioner of the Education Department.

Barnes� office reported 175 retired workers across state government in September. The figure didn�t include higher education. State colleges and universities use the worker-retiree program frequently, according to previously available figures.

Rep. Pamela Z. Sawyer, R-Bolton, questioned Barnes on the rehires during a budget hearing this month. She has been critical of the program. �They should be done very selectively and for very specific reasons, and I think they should be used on occasion,� Sawyer said.

She described the 80 rehires as being appropriate, if they�re limited in salary and if their contracts aren�t renewed. �That�s pretty successful if it�s only going to be done for one 120-day call-back,� Sawyer said Monday. �But if it becomes an annual situation for many of these rehires, then that�s a problem.�

Sawyer also supported the use of the program for plow drivers and other seasonal workers. �That�s perfect for them,� she said.

But she questioned why some agencies decided they could do without. The Department of Social Services, for example, didn�t request rehiring any retirees. �They have one of the biggest budgets in the state,� Sawyer said.

The Children and Families and the Correction departments also didn�t request any temporary worker retirees.

A Social Services Department spokesman didn�t return a call asking how the agency was able to get by without hiring retired workers. The department was approved to fill 149 vacant positions.