May 21, 2008
Double protection
If New York lawyers are convicted of a felony, they automatically are disbarred. But public school teachers convicted of a felony do not automatically lose their teaching credentials.
If private sector employees are injured, they collect workers' compensation and disability insurance, but are barred from suing their employers. Not true for employees of state and local governments.
There's a move afoot to end such costly double protection for public employees.
One bill would provide for the immediate dismissal of teachers convicted of felonies involving sexual misconduct, avoiding a hearing process that can cost $150,000 a case. As Associated Press reports today:
The measure seeks to end the long-criticized practice in which educators convicted of crimes are still entitled to try to keep their state certifications even when the hearings are held in prison, after the educator was sentenced.
In 2007, AP reported that the number of "moral conduct"charges against school employees doubled in five years. "In all, 485 misconduct cases were reported over five years, most involving sexual misconduct.
Meanwhile, a bill to bar public employees from collecting double benefits when they are injured was amended in Assembly committee to exclude paymentsby health insurance companies.
Turning to another kind of double dipping, the Times Union reports George M. Philip, the 60-year-old interim president of the University at Albany, is a triple dipper, collecting $641,000 this year. His annual pension after 37 years with the Teachers Retirement System is $261,000. He makes an additional $100,000 as a consultant to his former employer. Plus he's paid $280,000 annually as interim president of the University at Albany.
The Times Union's Capitol Confidential blog has posted a spreadsheet of 899 retirees collecting pensions of $100,000 or more, as well as a spreadsheet by government employer.
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