State Rep. Steve Frisbie helped advance a plan to end the secret practice of Michigan giving huge severance payments to departing state employees on Wednesday. These agreements often include huge sums of taxpayer dollars and are tied to the ousted employee signing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

A “golden parachute” is a large financial payout or benefit package provided to a department director or high-level employee when they leave a position, often unexpectedly or after a big bureaucratic blunder. Rep. Frisbie said taxpayer-funded government positions should not come with excessive payouts that are hidden from the public.

“The state is pulling wool over taxpayers’ eyes when it comes to writing massive severance checks to government officials who leave under questionable circumstances,” said Frisbie. “These secretive severance deals have allowed taxpayer money to be handed out behind closed doors. It’s time to bring accountability and transparency back to state government.”

Several Michigan department heads have abruptly left posts in the Whitmer administration with massive severance payouts in recent years. In 2021, former Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Robert Gordon received $155,506 in an agreement that included him signing an NDA. A year later, former Unemployment Insurance Agency Director Steve Gray resigned, also signed an NDA, and received a severance payout of around $85,000.

The leaks of these golden parachute deals have led to other revelations that state employees in both the executive and legislative branches have received bloated severance payouts tied to their signing NDAs.

House Bill 6009 outlines new, clear prohibitions on severance buyouts for state employees. Restrictions in the proposal include blocking severance payments entirely for elected and appointed state officers and restricting state employees in the executive or legislative branch from receiving a severance payout greater than 12 weeks of normal wages.

“Government should never operate in the shadows. As representatives of the people, we have a responsibility to ensure taxpayer dollars are never used as a reward for failure,” Frisbie said. “This plan stops excessive payouts and ensures the people funding our state government have a clear view of how their money is spent.”

The plan also prevents severance payouts from being shrouded in secrecy, ensuring things like crimes committed in the workplace and employment contracts aren’t hidden from the public eye.

The legislation now moves to the state Senate for further consideration.