When Gordon MacDonald was New Hampshire Attorney General, he tapped Dianne Martin, a lawyer at the Department of Justice, to serve as his chief of staff.
Two years later, when MacDonald became chief justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court, Martin followed her former boss, taking a top job working for him as head of the court’s administrative office.
In April of this year, Martin landed yet another high paying job under MacDonald: overseeing applications for those hoping to practice law in New Hampshire.
But instead of Martin transferring directly into that position, something strange took place. Martin was laid off from state government for two days, then immediately rehired.
While this 48-hour gap in Martin’s employment may have seemed just a technicality — a bureaucratic blip — it was also lucrative. It allowed her to cash out unused sick and vacation time, and other benefits, for a total payment of nearly $50,000. Typically, state employees are only able to cash out their unused sick and vacation time when they retire or are laid off.
The payout came at a time when the New Hampshire judiciary was facing a budget crisis. In the same month that the payouts were made, the chief justice announced a hiring freeze, and warned of looming layoffs if state budget writers slashed any more funding.
The unusual personnel move — which NHPR confirmed through state payroll records, personnel files and at least one complaint made by a state employee — has not been previously made...
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