COLUMBUS, Ohio — An estimated 0.04% of Franklin County poll workers could be jeopardy of losing their health benefits on election day.
The “quirk” in the law, as described by the Franklin County Auditors office, became an issue when the Franklin County Board of Elections raised the wages of poll workers as an incentive for them to come back for the May and November elections.
“A quirk in state law could affect a small sample of retired public employees in Franklin County who worked elections this May and who plan to work again this November. These are career public servants who are now going the extra mile and providing a critical service to our democracy. We want to make sure their healthcare will not be impacted due to their service on election day. It can be resolved with a simple communication. Out of the pool of approximately 36,000 election workers in Franklin County, this could potentially impact 254 people," said a spokesperson for the auditor's office.
Among those impacted was Suzane Jervey of Worthington.
"I am a retired public employee and if I start working for the government again the state or the county or the city then I could have to discontinue my retirement or pay more retirement who knows I wasn't too worried about that what I was worried about losing my health benefits for the month of November,” she said.
A spokesperson for the Franklin County Board of Elections tells 10TV, “Public employees retired with OPERS – Ohio Public Employees Retirement System – can’t make more than $600.00 in a year from a government agency that contributes into OPERS. Several years ago we raised pay not for day of election but all the other ancillary items like training, Monday night set up, etc. to help us retain and entice more poll workers in a tight labor market. Because of this in some instances if someone works two elections in a year it can get them close to the $600.00 threshold.”
To avoid paying retirees over the allotted amount, the FCBOC says it is recommending the poll workers do not attend a review session, which reduces potential pay by $30 and re-assigning them to another position that makes less money.
"We will continue to work with the General Assembly to advocate for change in legislation to support our retired poll workers,” said a spokesperson for the Auditors Office."
