New effort targets Pa.’s ‘triple-dipping’ state workers

Progress may have slowed on legislative efforts to put an end to a practice known as “triple dipping” — although Pennsylvania lawmakers say they’re determined to get a measure to the governor’s desk soon.

The state House and Senate have unanimously passed separate measures to close what legislators call a loophole that allows retired state workers to milk the system.

Sen. Pat Vance, R-Cumberland County, introduced her chamber’s proposal.

“The law says retirees or annuitants can come back and work for 95 days in a year. What was happening was that, after those 95 days … they were being terminated because they were no longer eligible,” Vance said Thursday. “Some of them said, ‘Well, we’re being terminated. We’re going to file for unemployment.'”

Vance introduced a similar bill last session, but it conflicted with federal law. This time, she said, the technical problem has been cleared up.

But that may be news to House lawmakers.

The chamber’s GOP spokesman says his caucus is still waiting on language that would fix their version — and it’s identical to Vance’s proposal.