ROCKVILLE, Md. • Montgomery County has banned certain government employees from holding government jobs, then asked the first rejected applicant whether he’d prefer his paycheck by mail or direct deposit, sources have confirmed.
The applicant, a federal immigration officer, asked why his government experience disqualified him from government work.
“Because we said so,” the county’s HR director explained, sliding a direct deposit form across the desk.
The officer offered to withdraw his application.
HR advised him to wait until Friday so he wouldn’t lose a week of paid time off.
He’d already been entered in the system as a full-time rejection.
Word reached a maintenance worker, who asked to transfer into a job he was ineligible for.
HR said there were no openings.
He pointed out that he wouldn’t need one.
By lunch, the county had rejected six more applicants and issued a press release celebrating seven jobs created.
“We promised affordability and fairness,” the council president said.
“We’ve replaced seven salaries with seven fairness payments. Salary costs for those positions are now zero.”
On his way out, the officer spotted a loose handrail and tightened it.
As of press time, the county had docked him eleven seconds of pay for working without authorization and approved $38,000 for a consultant to determine why the handrail had stopped moving.
