State Department of Management and Budget figures cited yesterday by Booth Newspapers show 2,093 new hires were approved between October and early February. Only 50 were denied.
"It sounds like a thaw has set in before the freeze even started," said Bill Ballenger, editor of the newsletter Inside Michigan Politics.
"It's ridiculous to say you have a hiring freeze when you're hiring over 90 percent of the people applying for jobs."
Democrats accuse Engler of using the freeze to try to get the Michigan Supreme Court to hear a case that could cost the state $500 million or more.
"Let it be said, 'This is the hiring freeze that never was,"' said Steve Gools, spokesperson for the Michigan Democratic Party.
"It's absolutely plausible that the governor would use a maneuver like a phony hiring freeze to accomplish a political gain."
An Engler spokesperson denied such motives.
"This was a prudent measure on our part, something we felt was necessary," said Pat Masserant. "However, the facts about how devastating this case could be stand on their own."
The court case involves claims by 84 school districts that the state failed to pay for state-mandated costs of special education and other programs. Claims could total more than $500 million, with additional costs of $300 million to $400 million each year, according to state estimates.Last September, the Michigan Supreme Court let stand an Appeals Court judgment against the state.
In October, Engler announced he was beefing up the hiring freeze begun when he took office in 1991, citing the money drain the case would cause. Instead of department heads deciding what positions to fill, all vacancies would come before state Budget Director Mark Murray. The first exemptions were granted in mid-November.
The high court then agreed to take the case in December.
A court spokesman said justices consider specific legal points when deciding whether to take a case.
"To the degree that (the hiring freeze) may have been a tactic, you'll have to ask the governor's office," David Gruber said.
"These are legal issues the court has to deal with and that's primarily what they look at in determining whether or not to take a case."
The freeze covers thousands of civil service jobs, Booth reported. Of the nearly 2,100 requests for exemptions, about 8000 are seasonal employees in the Treasury and Transportation departments, said Maureen McNulty, a spokeswoman for the Department of Management and Budget.
yees hold snow-removal and tax-season jobs and won't be on the payroll for long.
Ms. McNulty said the state also has been more lenient in approving requests to fill existing positions, expecting an early retirement program to reduce state payrolls by up to 4,000 people between April and June.
The state employs about 60,000 people. Full-time state employment is down about 9 percent since Engler took office, Ms. McNulty said.
Critics remain skeptical.
Rep. Pat Gagliardi, D-Drummond Island, criticized Engler for hiring political allies - including three former Republican lawmakers - during the freeze.
"It's an imaginary hiring freeze," Gagliardi told Booth. "It's being used by the administration to pick and choose the people they want to hire."