State spending on overtime increased slightly over last year for the second quarter, according to a release from the Office of Fiscal Analysis, although some state agencies showed progress in reducing the number overtime hours for state employees. Overtime spending was up 4 percent over this time last year, with ...
State physicians and psychiatrists for Connecticut’s Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services received two additional step increases to their pay scale as part of the bevy of union contracts approved with the 2017 SEBAC deal.
Connecticut’s Whiting Forensic Hospital was forced to rehire employees terminated in 2009 and 2010 for the abuse of state psychiatric patients after grievance arbitrators overturned management decisions, according to documents obtained through a freedom of information request.
The nine Connecticut state employees arrested by police for abuse of a patient at the Whiting Forensic Division of Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown continue to be paid by the state, according to the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. A spokeswoman for DMHAS, Diana Lejardi, confirmed that none of the arrested employees have been terminated because the investigation is ongoing.
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.