A bill introduced by Connecticut Republicans that would strip public safety workers of their right to include overtime wages in their pension calculation was blasted by nearly 200 people in person and in writing at its public hearing on Friday.
Senate Bill 24, received its public hearing on Friday before the Appropriations Committee. The bill was introduced by Sen. Rob Sampson, R-Wolcott, and Reps. Anne Dauphinais, R-Killingly, Gale Mastrofrancesco, R-Wolcott, and Mitch Bolinsky, R-Newtown; similar Republican bills have been introduced in previous years.
The bill was immediately and overwhelmingly criticized by firefighters, corrections officers and others who said that they are required to work mandatory overtime due to the public safety nature of their jobs and the lack of adequate staffing in various state agencies – particularly employees of State Police, Corrections, and the State Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, which make up nearly two-thirds of all overtime in Connecticut.
Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, described working in the Department of Correction for more than two decades. Public safety positions are middle-class jobs that do not come with high-end salaries, Osten said.
“Most all of the overtime people work is not by choice- it’s mandated, especially because we are so short-staffed in corrections and state police,” said Osten, who is Senate chair of the Appropriations Committee. “These are hard jobs that very few people want to do. We should be thankful to these people and how hard they work and the family sacrifices and personal health sacrifices that they make when they work mandatory overtime.”
Parole Officer Melissa Quaranta said her job required her to be on-call 24-hours a day, bringing constant disruption to her home and family life.
“I have also had my sleep disrupted so many times to fulfill the required overtime my job calls for,” said Quaranta, who also worked as a correction officer. “It would be a disservice to employees that continuously put their lives at risk for their jobs – and are known to statistically have shorter life expectancies due to the nature of the job – to take away overtime payments towards our hard-earned pensions.”
Carolyn Anderson, a nurse, said the Republican legislation unfairly penalized essential public employees because overtime compensation was a critical component of the income of state employees who work dangerous and demanding jobs.
“Excluding overtime from pension calculations disregards the significant sacrifices made by these individuals, many of whom are forced to work overtime and extended hours to provide essential services to our community,” Anderson said. “This legislation devalues their hard work, dedication and personal sacrifices.”
The Appropriations Committee deadline for action on bills is April 25.
