Report: Thousands of state workers hired despite freeze

Gov. Bill Ritter promised a hiring freeze last year to help bridge the budget gap, but a 7 News investigation found that as many as 2,300 employees were hired during the “freeze.”

“We have taken a number of steps to shore up our fiscal house: imposing a hiring freeze, stopping several new construction projects and halting nonessential spending requests,” Ritter said in his January 2009 State of the State speech.

But a 7 News investigation found that the number of state employees increased during Ritter’s hiring freeze, and Ritter’s top staff, who were tasked with managing the freeze, did not know how many people were hired.

Read the full story at thedenverchannel.com.