In May 2011, the BART General Manager agreed to quit, however she continued to receive regular paychecks for another 19 months at the cost of $333,000 plus benefits. Despite never working a day in 2012 and having no responsibilities at all, she still remained the highest paid official in the system.
Some may say that Dorothy Dugger received a sweetheart deal when she was terminated. Before making her departure official, Dugger quietly arranged to use about 80 weeks of accrued vacation time. While it was available to her for a lump-sum cash-out, she opted instead to use it. By so doing, she was able to continue to receive her benefits for 19 months, including pension contributions, earning 2 extra months of vacation, and boosting her pension by roughly $1,000 per month, for life. The total cost of her accrued benefits after she left work but before she left payroll amounted to $138,000.
The benefits were in addition to the $333,000 salary and $920,000 settlement she received to dispose of a wrongful termination suit. According to Dugger, when the Board decided to fire her, it was in violation of open meeting laws.
BART allows employees to either cash out their unused vacation each year, or bank it. Over 20 years, Dugger banked 3,100 vacation hours.
Read the full story at the Contra Costa Times.