As state workers begin applying for the Voluntary Separation Program, a cost-cutting measure implemented by Governor Wes Moore’s Office, data shows thousands of employees won’t be eligible for it.
To help balance the budget and deal with the Maryland’s deficit, state officials are working to make $121 million dollars in personnel cuts, as required by the latest budget. To do that, Governor Wes Moore’s Office has implemented a hiring freeze, has plans to eliminate vacant positions and has also started the Voluntary Separation Program. The VSP allows eligible state employees to leave their position with a lump sum of $20,000, $300 per year of service and six months of health insurance.
“I think it’ll help get them there, but it may not get them all the way there, and that’s one of the problems, too,” said political expert John Dedie.
To be eligible for the buyout program, an employee must be employed in a full-time permanent position in the Executive Branch of the State, not in a classification or agency that has been designated as excluded from the VSP, and have at least twenty-four months of current, continuous State service.
However, employees from over 30 agencies, including several universities and colleges, the judiciary, and many others, won’t be able to apply for the program. In addition, employees in a plethora of positions are also ineligible.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Jessica Babb over at WJLA News Channel 7
