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PLCB chief to retire, then return as consultant
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HARRISBURG -- The chief executive of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has announced he will retire from the state agency on Feb. 2. But he'll be back two weeks later, albeit on a temporary and part-time basis, to help with legislative budget hearings and the transition to new leadership.
CEO Joe Conti has been approved to work a limited number of days assisting the agency, which oversees the 605 state wine and liquor stores and online sales. State policy allows agencies facing an "emergency" to rehire retirees for up to 95 days in a calendar year without loss of their annuity.
Such workers are compensated at the rate they received at retirement, provided they perform similar work, so Mr. Conti, whose salary is $156,000, will be paid $80.16 per hour. He plans to return to work on Feb. 19, after a two-week break, according to Stacy Kriedeman, a spokeswoman for the LCB.
Mr. Conti has indicated he will begin receiving a pension benefit of approximately $60,000 per year at the end of February, Ms. Kriedeman said.
The 2002 management directive on the rehiring of retirees, provided by the Office of Administration, says the governor must approve that an emergency exists before a retiree can be returned to state service.
"It is administration policy to interpret 'emergency' within a narrow literal context," it states.
State agencies typically rehire retirees who bring experience to a particular need. Department of Revenue retirees assist during tax season. During the recession, retirees of the Department of Labor and Industry helped process claims for unemployment compensation.
"The benefit is you're getting people who used to do that work and can hit the ground running," said Dan Egan, a spokesman for the Office of Administration.
The request for Mr. Conti to return to the LCB after his retirement was approved Jan. 18, Mr. Egan said. The LCB announced his retirement the following day.
The board, a three-member body with one vacancy, has not indicated when it will select a replacement for Mr. Conti.
First Published January 26, 2013 12:00 am
