DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The state of Iowa has paid more than $282,000 in secret settlements to six former employees over the last three years. The Des Moines Register reports that all were asked to sign confidentiality agreements that would have kept the settlements out of public view. The settlements were shuffled through state agencies, avoiding the typical process of being approved by and made public through the Iowa State Appeal Board. They were obtained through Iowa’s open-records law.

The employees held positions ranging from a public health supervisor to a design engineer. They were considered merit-based employees, which gives them the ability to move into other available state jobs ahead of workers with less experience. The workers contend they would have kept their jobs if the state hadn’t violated workplace employment practices.