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Charlotte Amalie
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesSENATE VOTES TO END EXEMPT WORKER CONVERSION

SENATE VOTES TO END EXEMPT WORKER CONVERSION

Lawmakers voted Monday to make it impossible for unclassified or exempt government employees to keep their public payroll positions indefinitely by being converted to classified workers after two years on the job.
On a 13-2 vote Monday, the Senate approved legislation amending the V.I. Code to outlaw the practice, which critics have cited as a principal cause of the bloated government payroll.
As the law now stands, government employees in positions designated by the governor or the Legislature as exempt and unclassified may be recategorized as classified workers after two years and thus keep their jobs in the next administration.
"We are growing the government out of control, and we need to make sure this practice is not abused in the future," Senate President Vargrave Richards said.
The bill now goes to Gov. Charles Turnbull for his signature.
In other action Monday, the Legislature approved a bill asking the U.S. Interior Department to give the V.I. government 4 acres of property in Estate Wintberg on St. Thomas to be used as a public park.
It also passed a bill to amend the V.I. Code regarding the Health Consumer Complaint Review Committee so that "not more than two such members shall be residents of the same island."

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