LANSING (AP) - Gov. Gretchen Whitmer faced growing criticism Tuesday after the disclosure of two additional employment-separation deals for former top officials, a day after her administration acknowledged that a key leader in the state's response to the coronavirus pandemic was paid $155,000 following his sudden resignation.
The state said ex-Unemployment Insurance Agency Director Steve Gray, who resigned in November after falling out of favor with the governor, reached a separation agreement. The Associated Press filed an open-records request after the agency refused to provide a copy or to elaborate further.
Sarah Esty, a deputy director in the state Department of Health and Human Services who quit in late January, also had a separation pact. Such deals appear to be highly unusual in state government.
Former DHHS Director Robert Gordon, who issued sweeping COVID-19 restrictions after the Democratic governor's emergency orders were upended by an October court ruling, abruptly resigned Jan. 22. At that time, Whitmer would not say if she had sought his exit.
But his Feb. 22 severance pact, uncovered Monday as part of newspapers' public-records requests, suggested he was forced out.
The $155,506 payout covers nine months of salary and his payments to continue health coverage. The sides agreed - "in the interest of protecting deliberations among government officials" - to maintain confidentiality regarding the departure of Gordon, who will not sue the state.
On Jan. 29, a week after Gordon's exit, Esty signed a deal with the health department's human resources director in which she was placed on paid administrative leave until Feb. 26, at which point she resigned. That contract, which was first reported by The Detroit News, has no confidentiality provision. She made $156,060 a year, so the extra month's pay was about $12,000.
Republican lawmakers who have criticized Whitmer's COVID-19 restrictions vowed to investigate.
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