Now that the legislature is finally getting down to the business of solving the state’s budget crisis (we hope), folks in state government have been taking advantage of the early retirement that resulted from the negotiations between the administration and the state employee unions. Recent reports put the numbers well over the anticipated 3,000. There is still a little time for public workers to apply for early retirement which means that a lot of people will either be enjoying retirement this summer or will be out in the private sector looking for new employment.
Employers need to be cognizant of the revolving door provisions. The Office of State Ethics has fined individuals and firms for their failure to comply with these rules. Here are a few of the bans to be aware of:
Lifetime Bans
• Confidential information - A former state employee may never disclose any confidential information learned during the course of state service for anyone’s financial gain.
• Side-switching - A former state employee may never represent anyone other than the state regarding a particular matter in which they were personally or substantially involved while in state service and in which the state has a substantial interest.
One-year Bans
• A former state employee may not represent the new employer for compensation before their former agency for a period of one year after leaving state service.
• A former state employee is prohibited from being hired for a period of one year after leaving state service by a party to a state contract valued at $50,000 or more if the employee was substantially involved in, or supervised, the negotiation or award of that contract and it was signed within their last year of state service.
• Employees who held certain specifically-designated positions (i.e. supervisors etc.) at certain state regulatory agencies such as the Department of Banking, Insurance Department and the Department of Consumer Protection, among others, are prohibited from seeking or accepting employment with any business subject to regulation by the individual’s agency within one year of leaving the agency.
Source – Office of State Ethics
