Semantic Employees

When is a state employee not a state employee? When the Governor's office says so. There's a hiring freeze under way, but according to an AP story this afternoon, two former Bob Riley Insiders have been hired at a rate of $195 an hour each to help spend the Federal Stimulus Plan money, the plan Riley said was unfair to Alabama. The story quotes the Governor's communication director: "The hiring freeze applies to state employees. These folks are not state employees," Emerson said.