Severance workarounds unjustified

Severance pay - a voluntary offer of payment, usually tied to length of service, from an employer to a terminated worker - is a common practice in about 50 percent of the nation's private sector jobs. At-will employment through the State of Iowa does not offer severance pay, at least not officially.

'The State does not offer severance; however, if management wishes to send someone home for a set period of time as a work assignment until the separation date, that is an option,” wrote a personnel director within the Iowa Department of Administrative Services' Human Resources Division to an employee of the Secretary of State.

The revelation comes as part of a report by the State Auditor's Office into wages paid to certain Secretary of State employees during 2012. State Sen. Liz Mathis, D-Cedar Rapids, co-chairwoman of a legislative budget subcommittee responsible for administrative costs, requested the investigation following media reports that Jim Gibbons was allowed to remain on the agency's payroll after his job was eliminated.

Gibbons, a former GOP congressional candidate, was announced as SOS chief deputy director of business services in late December 2010. Roughly 17 months later, in late May 2012, Gibbons was informed by Secretary Matt Schultz of his position's elimination. He continued to draw a salary through the end of the year, costing taxpayers more than $90,000.

Gibbons rarely came to the office during this time and predominantly made himself available via phone, although no time sheets are available to show how often.

DAS has since clarified its position, saying that it never would have approved the specific circumstances surrounding Gibbons' continued employment if asked directly. A typical practice, they say, is to allow at-will employees to receive payment until the end of the pay period, up to a maximum of two weeks.

We agree the state is right to demand repayment of the funds, barring no evidence of work.

Beyond the immediate outrage, however, we also hope the situation will spark administrative changes to prevent future extraordinary payouts of this ilk.

If all at-will employees are not granted the same two-week courtesy DAS portrays as typical, the situation smacks of favoritism and cronyism. Neither should be allowed to exist within state government.

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