The state's reliance on retired annuitants, a sore subject for many state workers and for pension reform advocates, surfaced in an unusual hiring freeze exemption request filed earlier this year by the Department of Health Care Services.
The department asked on May 27 to hire a retired annuitant a specific retiree for an $8,000-per-month Research Program Specialist II job. The retiree had been training his successor to do everything from data mapping and research to to regulation review and survey analysis.
The replacement wasn't ready to take over and the department needed the retiree, whose name is redacted from the document provided to The State Worker, to stick around to finish preparing his successor to take over.
Failing to keep the RA to complete the institutional knowledge hand-off would "significantly delay the review of all policy findings including contracts, disclosure statements, riders, promotional materials, applications, coverage documents and actuarial memoranda." Ultimately the data analysis used for pricing some insurance policies could be affected.
No go, said the Brown administration in its June 28 response to request No. I-015, which we've posted below.
"The incumbent has been training since February," the administration observed. "In the absence of the incumbent, other experienced staff such as the supervisor and manager can continue to provide training."
The Health Care filing is one of hundreds of documents we reviewed for our recent report on how Brown is enforcing his Feb. 15 state hiring freeze order.
We're posting all of them on The State Worker. Today's batch of requests came from Health and Human Services, Health Care Services and the Horse Racing Board.) To see the Highway Patrol's request in an earlier post, click here.)
Health and Human Services Agency I-0002.pdf
Health and Human Services Agency I-0004.pdf
Health Care Services G-006.pdf
Health Care Services G-0007.pdf
Health Care Services G-010.pdf
Health Care Services I-015.pdf
Horse Racing Board I-0003.pdf
Horse Racing Board I-0005.pdf
Horse Racing Board I-0008.pdf
Horse Racing Board I-0008.pdf
Horse Racing Board I-0009.pdf
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