State police, mental-health workers, make most overtime pay

HARTFORD — In 2018, at least 97 state employees will each take home more than $100,000 in overtime pay.

They are Connecticut State Police officers, nurses for the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and patient caretakers for the Department of Developmental Services.

All three agencies had staff reductions this fiscal year, and had some of the highest overtime costs in state government, according to the General Assembly’s nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis. Stephanie Miller, a 47-yearold state police

sergeant, has made $325,520 so far in 2018, making her the 109th highest-paid employee, the state’s Open Payroll database shows. But of that pay, $214,560 was overtime — the most overtime earned by any state employee, a Hearst Connecticut Media analysis has found.

State police staff shortages might be at fault, said Andrew Matthews, executive director of the Connecticut State Police Union. In April 2008, the state police had 1,283 troopers, but now there are 924, Matthews said. “It wasn’t typical that troopers would get ordered in all that often,” said Matthews. “But now it’s a weekly occurrence. I’ve heard from some troopers that they are being ordered in twice a week.”

Similarly, Katrapati Sivaprasad, a 66-year-old supervising nurse for DMHAS, earned $197,960 in overtime pay in 2018, the database shows, bringing his total pay to $326,620 and making him the 106th highest-paid Connecticut employee.

Four DMHAS nurses agreed that most of the overtime they work is voluntary, but they get paid double-time when ordered by supervisors.

One DMHAS nurse, who was paid more than $100,000 in overtime this year and asked to remain anonymous, said he worked an average of 24 hours a week of overtime at the Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown. Compounding staff cuts, one of the four nurses in his facility is out on worker’s compensation because of injuries caused by patients, he said.

“I personally got tapped in the eye by a pen, by a patient,” he said.

OT spending growing

Of the 97 employees who have earned more than $100,000 in overtime in 2018 to date, 39 worked for DMHAS, 37 for the state police, 20 for DDS and one for the Department of Children and Families.

These four state agencies and the Department of Correction accounted for 93 percent of overtime spending coming out of the state budget this fiscal year and last, the Office of Fiscal Analysis said in an October 2018 report.

From July to September, the state spent about $67 million in overtime, about $3.7 million more than in the first quarter, OFA said. State overtime spending was up nearly 6 percent compared to the same quarter last year. Although DOC workers did not fall in the top 97 state overtime earners, the agency, which runs state prisons and jails, spent the most on overtime this quarter, with $21.5 million, OFA said.

But of these five departments, the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, which runs the state police, saw the biggest percentage increase in overtime when comparing first quarters from fiscal year 2018 to 2019. Overtime spending by DESPP increased 27.1 percent, OFA found.

Pensions

For many state employees, the average of their three highest earning years will be used to calculate their pension. Only mandatory overtime is considered in this formula, however, said Tara Downes, director of communications for the state Comptroller’s Office.

“There is indeed an issue with some state employees seeking to boost their pensions by working excessive amounts of overtime,” said Carol Platt Lieubau, president of the Yankee Institute for Public Policy. “All of us are aware of nonprofit entities that can provide many of these services more efficiently.”

But for new hires, the formula has changed, so pensions are calculated by looking at more years of service, and thus eliminating the ability to “pad” their pensions.

For state police, only some overtime pay is “pensionable,” while other overtime work, like monitoring highway construction, is paid by third parties, Matthews said.

There could be “nonpensionable” income reflected in the overtime on Open Payroll, said Downes.

Pushing for more staff

Union representatives for the state police, DMHAS and DDS said they were pushing the state to increase staffing out of concerns for their members and the public they serve.

“Our members would much rather have the positions filled rather than work overtime,” said Paul Fortier, a Connecticut vice president for SEIU 199, which represents DMHAS and DDS workers. “You burn out people. There is no way you can provide the proper care you need to deliver.”

In DMHAS’s larger facilities, which provide direct around-the-clock care for mental health and substance-dependent patients, overtime sometimes is necessary, said Diana Lejardi, the agency’s public information officer.

The Connecticut State Police did not respond with the requested information.

Matthews said state police are not permitted to work more than 18.5 hours in a 24 hour period. His union members would like to see the return of a state law that mandated the state police be staffed at 1,248 troopers, he said. That law was eliminated in 2012.

Katie Rock-Burns, a spokeswoman for DDS, said overtime “is definitely something that we have been addressing, but it is just a matter of having enough bodies to cover the hours,”