Linda J. Yelmini, a former longtime director of labor relations in the state Office of Policy and Management, will serve the Connecticut Senate Republican Caucus as a labor relations advisor and legislative researcher for the 2017 legislative session.
Yelmini has been hired to work in a part-time, hourly capacity.
Yelmini reached a $325,000 settlement with the state in 2015 after she challenged her removal from the labor relations director’s job as unfair. She had worked at OPM since 1987 and spent 18 years as labor relations director.
Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano (R-North Haven) and Senate Republican Leader Pro Tempore Kevin Witkos (R-Canton) praised Yelmini’s experience with Connecticut budget matters.
She is someone who “knows more about state employee contracts than most people in state government” and understands the budget “inside and out,” Fasano said in a statement.
Fasano added that Yelmini will continue to serve as a “neutral arbitrator on a number of arbitration panels.”
Yelmini also had served as the commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services, deputy commissioner of Public Safety and as a member of the Retirement Commission.
