Connecticut spent $119 million on state employee overtime during the first six months of fiscal year 2016, but that number does not include overtime for employees in the Departments of Transportation or Motor Vehicles.
Citing “availability” and “reliability” issues with the data, the Office of Fiscal Analysis (OFA) said it could only provide overtime numbers for employees paid through the state’s General Fund. That rules out DOT or DMV employees, who are paid through the Special Transportation Fund.
This raises the question of whether or not DOT and DMV are tracking overtime spending. If they do track overtime, why not release the data?
If the current trend continues, the state, excluding DOT and DMV, is on track to spend almost $240 million this year on overtime.
At $37.6 million, the Department of Correction spent more than any other state agency on overtime. Other big spenders included:
- Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, $26.2 million
- Department of Developmental Services, $22.7 million
- Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, $13.3 million
- Department of Children and Families, $9.6 million
The Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services spent the most per employee receiving overtime pay at $10,869 per employee.
Overtime earnings also increase future pension payouts, meaning these estimates do not include the total cost of overtime pay.
OFA released a five-page analysis of state-employee overtime Tuesday.
