As university system set to make major cuts, Georgia Tech hires 18 new HR employees

ATLANTA — The University System of Georgia’s decision to order possible furloughs for thousands of employees has triggered a whistleblower complaint about hiring at Georgia Tech.

Channel 2 investigative reporter Richard Belcher found a complaint accuses one department at Tech of hiring new human resources employees even as it became clear that state employees were in jeopardy.

Records provided by the whistleblower show that Georgia Tech's human resources department hired 18 new people since mid-December.

Their salaries and benefits totaled more than $1.3 million and all were deemed critical.

Three were announced just one day before the university system delivered the bad news about furloughs.

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“I just hope it doesn't come to that. I hope we come up with a real solution to this,” one Georgia Tech employee said.

The university system said the furlough program could affect tens of thousands of system employees.

The bad news came after Gov. Brian Kemp ordered all state agencies to prepare for 14% budget cuts.

System Chancellor Steve Wrigley addressed the cuts with the board of regents last week.

“This is an unprecedented situation, and we need to respond to it and pitch in and help the state,” Wrigley told the board.

The furlough plan is intended to inflict the most pain on those making these highest salaries, including Wrigley.

But, a Georgia Tech employee is asking: why did Tech's HR department keep hiring even after the economic trouble was obvious?

Belcher found in December, the university system announced that all new positions earning over $40,000 had to be vetted by each university's president and, in effect, be determined to be critical before the job could be filled.

Records show that Georgia Tech's HR department alone hired 18 people after that date with total salaries and benefits of more than $1.3 million.

They included five talent consultants at salaries and benefits of $370,000, four position management analysts for a little over $300,000 and the three jobs announced one day before the furloughs were revealed to come with salaries and benefits of just over $200,000 a year total.

Georgia Tech sent Belcher a statement saying all of the hires were vetted through the governor’s office, which is standard for critical hires.

“All hires are in compliance and have gone through the rigorous process established that all of these positions are necessary during these challenging economic times.”

State lost $1B over last month, meaning massive cuts as lawmakers work to balance budget Gov. Brian Kemp sent out a memo Friday calling on all state agencies to cut 14% of their budgets.

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