The Department of Labor said Thurmond is in the British Isles on business and could not be reached for comment. In May, Thurmond told the state commission that reviews involuntary separation cases that he needed Fullerton to help with the transition, but never intended to keep her on long-term. The commission raised questions about the arrangement, but approved the termination nonetheless. The most recent reform, passed in 1997, created a commission that makes a concerted effort to place state employees who lose their positions in comparable jobs with comparable pay at other state agencies. The 1997 law also tightened the circumstances in which employees could request an involuntary-separation pension.
Reviews are mixed on how the reform has worked.
In the six years previously, as a product of Gov. Miller's downsizing program, the state approved 450 or more such pensions. The commission also has found jobs for nine others. Most of those hold low-paying jobs, such as maintenance workers and food servers. But the higher a government employee is, the less likely other state agencies are to have a job for him. They don't have the money to do it.