The latest get-rich-quick scheme involves employees of the state of Michigan who get cross-wise on their jobs, face discipline for their offenses or shortcomings and then threaten to sue for discrimination or wrongful discharge.

State departments, unwilling to risk defending their disciplinary decisions in court, dip into the Treasury to make the unwanted employee go away, with pay-outs reaching into the hundreds of thousands of dollars and trending larger.

The latest such jackpot winner was an employee of Jocelyn Benson's Secretary of State's office, who walked away with $775,000 as part of a separation agreement signed nearly a year after she filed notice of intent to sue the state.

The money was given to Angela Harness, a former director of quality and customer service who alleged

See Full Page