CBS Atlanta Investigates: New Evidence Of Double Dipping
Fulton County Sheriff Tries To Re-Hire Workers As Contractors
POSTED: 5:49 pm EDT August 27,
2009
UPDATED: 6:02 pm EDT August 27,
2009
ATLANTA -- CBS Atlanta News has new details on an investigation we broke last month.The Fulton County sheriff has been caught bending the rules again.Last month CBS Atlanta’s Wendy Saltzman exposed employee's double dipping - getting both a pension and a paycheck.It might sound pretty good to get paid both a pension and a paycheck from the same boss, except that Fulton County Sheriff Ted Jackson has been warned that it's against the county's policy.13 double dippers in his agency were told to resign or lose their county funded pensions.All 13 resigned after the pension board ordered them to choose between their current jobs or their pensions, but a CBS Atlanta investigation found 10 of them back on the payroll.They were rehired as "independent contractors."An insider tipped-off CBS Atlanta News to the sheriff's attempts to re-hire his favored employees.A contract we received in the mail points to his new plan to skirt the rules, a potential move to out-smart the county's administration.Pension board chairman Jim Stephens said that still violates pension rules and the sheriff may have been breaking other county policies as well.“To my knowledge it would not be allowed,” said Stephens. “I understand that the sheriff was advised that the method of payment or the source of payments while they were controlled by the sheriff were not a proper use of these funds and then he immediately took action to dismiss these employees.”These re-hired "contractors" were only on the payroll 2-3 weeks before the matter was brought to the county's attentionThose people could come back to work, by just putting their pensions on hold.CBS Atlanta tried to interview the sheriff, but we were told by his spokesperson he wasn't "ready" to speak with us and that the matter has yet to reach a conclusion.
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