The CREATES report noted that 8,000 employees are eligible for retirement before July 2022 and identified 200 opportunities totaling $600 to $900 million of potential value., **Ken Girardin contributed to this article**, So of you retire prior to October 2021 and receive Your Cola 9 monthe later in July 2022 , will you receive above the normal 2 percent since inflation Is hIgh. The raises provided to state managers mirror what the state provided to union workers over the past four years under the 2017 agreement with the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition. Senate Joins House And Votes To Give Raises, Bonuses To State Employees The Victory Channel is LIVE with Victory News! 4.28.23 - Facebook The state of Connecticut is in the best financial condition that I can recall, being up here 10 years, said Rep. Michael DAgostino, D-Hamden, who led the debate in favor of the raises. This final increase may pose concerns for small businesses and non-profit organizations operating in the state. The minimum wage in Connecticut is scheduled to increase to $15 per hour on June 1, 2023. . Were losing some of our best and brightest as they seek other parts of the country where its easier to make a living. We were trying to get people not to retire well, thats not what this agreement does, said Sen. Craig Miner of Litchfield, ranking GOP senator on the Appropriations Committee. Is Ron DeSantis good for state workers? We look at the record Connecticut lawmakers this year will consider a bill from a veteran legislator to raise the $28,000 salaries of General Assembly members for the first time in more than 20 years. Negotiators will meet again to determine raises after the time period. About 1,700 management-level state employees will receive pay raises, an effort by Gov. community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years. The House, where Democrats also hold a majority, approved the package 96-52 on Thursday. The. SEBAC employees who are employed before March . Union members have engaged in an all-out campaign of organizing and mobilizing to make our pay a priority for state leaders. The bonuses, the GOP argued, are hardly the key to retaining workers, as the governor and other Democrats claim. More than 30 state employee bargaining units have ratified contracts that would provide more than 40,000 workers with $3,500 in bonuses by July, along with three years of raises, the State. That will be followed by 2.5 percent raises on July 1, 2022 and July 1, 2023. The agreements, which unions ratified earlier this spring, are retroactive to the start of this fiscal year, which began last July 1. While we wait to see the thousands of individual and committee bills that while dominate the myriad policy debates this year, Yankee Institute is hard at work promoting free-market solutions to the problems we face from Stamford to Putnam and Mystic to Salisbury. ALERT: Tell lawmakers to vote NO on the TCI Gas Tax Loophole that forces CT residents to pay unlimited energy taxes! He has been the state finances reporter at CT Mirror since it launched in 2010. 3.2K views, 182 likes, 87 loves, 302 comments, 161 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from The Victory Channel: The Victory Channel is LIVE with Victory News! The minimum 2 percent COLA also means that during years in which inflation was low, they still got a boost over the inflation rate. Connecticut holds $3.1 billion in its rainy day fund, equal to 15% of annual operating costs the maximum allowed by law. The contract is not a done deal. Senate gives final approval to raises, bonuses for CT state employees On top of that, most workers would "step" into a higher pay grade, adding an extra 2% to most raises. The Office of the State Comptroller reports that state government found a way to spend $47.11 billion in 2022 and, if trends continue, we can expect that number to grow even more going forward. To that end, we have produced a new edition of our Charter for Change. How will schools be implementing to curriculum requirements? State retirees to see pension bump as inflation jumps 6 percent Union leaders say the workforce is ready, if wary. 4:04 pm. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Publics Members The state and unions have the option of continuing the same level of raises for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024, or they can negotiate different compensation levels. The bargaining units ratified the agreement earlier in the week, and it now it heads to the state legislature for consideration. CONNECTICUT The state Senate gave final approval to the raise and bonus package for state employees. Florida lawmakers start hammering out budget details DAgostino said he believes arbitrators would have awarded unions annual cost-of-living raises of 3% or 3.5% given the state governments enhanced ability to pay. Ned Lamont believes it will keep critical state workers on the job. The best long-run thing for the state pension system is to have inflation just at or above 2%. Privacy Policy. Creative Commons. The full General Assembly is expected to vote on it as early as this week. The state is so intractable about its longterm bureaucratic practices. Opinion: Gov. The Lamont administration, labor leaders and other supporters of the increases have said they believe unions could have gotten even larger raises had they rejected the states offer and gone to arbitration. Thermo Fisher Scientific bought the company the same year. The Connecticut State Legislature will begin its 2023 session on January 4thand will adjourn on June 7th. When the CPI-W rises above 2 percent, those retirees will receive either 2 percent or a percentage of the rate of inflation, depending on how high the rate rises. The legislature's Appropriations Committee endorsed significant raises and $3,500 in bonuses Monday for about 46,000 unionized state employees. Gov. Salary Increase - ct The Lamont administration and SEBAC argue the deal is actually good for taxpayers, because an arbitrator would likely award workers even bigger raises. Connecticut State Department of Administrative Services CT.gov Home Department of Administrative Services Human Resources Business Rules and Regulations Compensation Salary Increase Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) Salary Increase Non-Represented Employees Expense Reimbursement/Meal Allowance Pay Differential Longevity Recruitment Pay The agreements, which unions ratified earlier this spring, are retroactive to the start of this fiscal year, which began last July 1. Michelle Lee. It was covered recently in goals and ideas tossed around in a brainstorming exercise, then numbered as priorities. The state and unions have the option of continuing the same level of raises for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024, or they can negotiate different compensation levels. Our product, Incentmax, is a dedicated sales incentive & performance management technology that links business goals with Sales reps & Customer facing team members' variable payments or Incentives/commissions, helping the increase in 5-10 % sales target achievement. The managers who will receive the raises include division heads at state agencies, as well as commissioners and. "The state has to live within its means just like the families and businesses we serve and represent," Lamont said in a statement when the deal was announced. She noted that West Virginia recently granted state employees a 5% raise while Arizona bumped pay for its correction officers by 20% and for workers in many other departments by 10%. Budget panel endorses raises, bonuses for CT state workers As we go into a time period where we expect a significant number of retirements, we want to make sure that we can attract and retain top talent across all of our agencies whether in management or non-management positions, McCaw said. Best Sales Performance Management Software Company The raises would cost the town about a half . During that time Connecticuts average pension payment increased 15 percent from $34.589 in 2015 to $39,887 in 2020. But the Lamont administration is facing a gathering wave of retirements, producing a sense of urgency that Geballe says is shared by labor and management. November 3, 2021 @ But its unclear if the bonuses will stop many workers, since they can still collect the $2,500 bonus even if they retire anyway. font size, Human Resources Business Rules and Regulations. Thats when more stringent limits on state retirement benefits, negotiated as part of a 2017 concessions deal with unions, take effect. Hazard or pandemic pay wasnt part of the negotiations, but will be resolved as part of another agreement, Lamont said. Examples abound. The states robust, short-term fiscal position is a sugar high that will pass when the federal stimulus money goes away, ODea said. Ned Lamont's administration and a coalition of . (His mother, Shelley, a lawyer and professor of public health at Yale, is a founding board member of the nonprofit Connecticut News Project Inc., operator of CTMirror.org.). Here are five things to know about the deal: Employees covered by the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition would get a 2.5 percent wage increase and step increases retroactive to July 1, 2021. Some Republicans have said the hefty bonuses are only an election-year stunt from Lamont, a Democrat, to shore up his standing with his labor base. Marc can be reached at, Connecticut saw a 1,600 decrease in nonfarm industry positions in December, while November private sector gains (3,300) were revised down [], Eviction cases in Hartford and Bridgeport have remained far below historical averages since the Supreme Court overturned the federal eviction []. The agreement would cost the state nearly $1.9 billion over four fiscal years, according to nonpartisan fiscal analysts. But two union leaders say they see the states expectations of a significant retirement wave as well-founded. Ned Lamont speaks at a news conference at Connecticuts Beardsley Zoo, in Bridgeport, Conn. March 29, 2021. Because the state is facing a massive retirement wave, which, if mishandled, could cripple state government. People know not to bring paper in here, said Josh Geballe, a former IBM executive and tech entrepreneur. Gusty winds add new twist to brush fires in CT, officials say, What's next for the nuclear waste that's been in CT for 50 years, Building emissions are a key climate change contributor in CT, After decades in unmarked grave, CT homicide victim put to rest. Required fields are marked *. Bonuses would be prorated for part-time employees. "I've got to recruit and keep them in order to keep our government going, he said. His predecessor, Robert J. Rinker, co-chaired a labor-management committee that addressed some of the same issues now under review. That will be followed by 2.5 percent raises on July 1, 2022 and July 1, 2023. As a Geballe said he just renewed his registration on-line. DAS is the states landlord and construction manager, its hiring hall and purchasing agent, and, perhaps most vitally in the digital age, its information technology office. GOP minority says taxpayers got a raw deal, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window). Example: Tier I Benefit Estimator: The following benefit Estimator provides estimates of the Plan B Reduction: (Tier I benefit Estimator) Cost of Living Adjustment. Connecticuts chief administrative officer keeps a spotless desk. SEBAC employees who are employed before March 31, 2022 would also get a $2,500 bonus. Its members include scientists, engineers and information technology professionals. A proposal to give every full-time employee a $10,000 raise next year is causing some division among leaders in the town of Ellettsville. December 30, 2021 @ "I'm very concerned this is unsustainable, opponent Kevin Maloney told lawmakers at a public hearing Monday. Its nothing more than a handout.. I think were at a time where change is coming, whether people like it or not. Since 1997, the State has used a formula to calculate the minimum cost of living adjustment. Lamont joined others to announce the deployment FEMAs new COVID-19 mobile vaccination unit, which is set up and running this week in the zoos parking lot. 1 Killed, Child Critically Injured In Major Highway Crash: CT News, Meteorologist Leaves TV News To Take Over Family Business: CT News, 3 Soldiers Killed After 2 U.S. Army Helicopters Crash In Alaska. The only Tier II members who are required to make retirement contributions are: Individuals serving in hazardous duty positions; and Individuals who elected to pay an additional contribution to maintain the current normal retirement age. Your email address will not be published. The agreement would cost the state nearly $1.9 billion over four fiscal years, according to nonpartisan fiscal analysts. Geballe said the administration has a vision of where to go with technology, primarily by offering consumers and businesses a digital portal to state government. Ellettsville considering $10,000 raise for every full-time employee The proposed contract is generous. Despite Lamonts claims to the contrary, it is highly likely that he will award state employees significant future wage increases as well as a generous modification of cost-of-living adjustments to their pensions after their retirement. Those who challenge government actions for the right reasons could be forever barred from political office unjustly by this law. As a federal EPA employee recently told the Washingtonian in a piece about the Trump administration, I fully intend to outlast these people.. Connecticut State Employees Retirement System Tier I Benefit Calculation And that was before surging state income and business tax receipts pushed this fiscal years surplus from $2.7 billion to $4 billion. Its a matter of whether we can afford it.. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, between 2015 and 2020 there was only one year 2018 during which the CPI-W for July was above 2 percent. He is one of the mid-career, private-sector executives to join the administration of Gov. Paper versus electronic records is just one of so many, Glidden said. October 25, 2021 @ Social Security has announced that they will be granting a cost of living increase of 8.7% for 2023. As many as 13,000 state employees will be eligible for retirement by July 2022, according to the state Comptroller's office. Thats because state governments coffers are flush with cash as never before. A third of the state workforce is going to retire in the next three years, Geballe said. That helps focus peoples minds and increase their willingness to change and to take risks. The deal is now final since the state Senate and House approved it. The Lamont administration, labor leaders and other supporters of the increases have said they believe unions could have gotten even larger raises had they rejected the states offer and gone to arbitration. listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information. Fazio cited a study by the American Enterprise Institute, which found that Connecticut state employees on average are paid 5.6 percent less in salary than a private sector employee with similar qualifications. Each of the 3.6 million residents in Connecticut rely on the critical public services state workers provide whether you are standing in line at the DMV, attending a technical school, community college or state university, getting treatment at UConn Health, driving on our roads and bridges, enjoying a state park or beach, or any of the other ubiquitous public services you will be uplifted by these fair and honorable contracts, the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition wrote in a statement after the Senate vote. In an effort to mitigate the potential loss of thousands of state employees, Gov. Consistently, studies show that the compensation of Connecticut state employees exceeds average private sector compensation by one of the highest margins of the 50 states. They are our people, who we count on each day to make us safe, she said. 90% of our revenue is contributed. Part of the 2017 SEBAC Agreement between the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition and Gov. But Gov. Part-timers would be eligible for prorated bonuses. We share the concern about whats going to happen in 2022, said Dave Glidden, the executive director of CSEA SEIU Local 2001, which represents 5,000 state employees. The nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis estimates the contract will cost the state $1.87 billion over three years. The announcement Thursday from the governors office of the 7.5% raises comes as union workers ramp up their fight for wage increases in their new contracts, which they are currently negotiating with the state. Geballe is no stranger to bureaucracies and the opportunities, challenges and necessities of wrenching change: He spent 11 years at IBM, which employs 350,000 people worldwide and preaches that the world is in the midst of a fourth industrial revolution, a convergence of new technologies powered by cloud computing. 2023 January COLA Increase Approved - portal.ct.gov Budget panel endorses raises, bonuses for CT state workers Full legislature expected to vote before May 4 by Keith M. Phaneuf April 18, 2022 @ 1:08 pm Rob Baril, the president of SEIU 1199,. Though the list of reforms may be exhausting to review, it is far from exhaustive! State law calls for equity in salary adjustments between union and non-union employees. Republicans countered Friday that the raises and bonuses far outstrip what households in the private sector are receiving. Watch Live at 7:00 PM: The U.S. and the Holocaust, a film by Ken Burns | Screening & Panel Discussion . Some of the features on CT.gov will not function properly with out javascript enabled. Your email address will not be published. Ned Lamont says are essential to help stem a surge in state employee retirements, are expected to be ratified Friday by the Senate, where Democrats also hold a majority. If you have employees affected by the . Julia Bergman is a former reporter with Hearst Connecticut Media Group. That includes Gov. 2016 CT.gov | Connecticut's Official State Website, regular But Osten said the agreements are essential to maintain a state workforce that is at its smallest size since the 1950s, an argument Lamont has made as well. There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Retired state employees now get annual cost-of-living adjustments: a minimum of 2 percent and a maximum of 7 percent, depending on inflation. CT Lawmakers Approve Raises, Bonuses For State Employees Lamonts predecessor, Dannel Malloy, once boasted to a union gathering, I am your servant. Lamont is also in public (union) service, willingly or not. House passes raises, bonuses for CT state employees By Keith M. Phaneuf / CTMirror.org Published April 21, 2022 at 5:22 PM EDT The House of Representatives approved a four-year package of raises Thursday that includes $3,500 in bonuses later this spring and summer for about 46,000 unionized state employees. Likely, the governors spinmeisters will follow the lead of union leaders in referring to all state employees as frontline workers, although many agencies were closed to the public during most of the pandemic. Connecticut is facing pressure from the private sector, municipalities and other states for its workers, Osten said, adding that the pandemic has made many state jobs less attractive. While annual retirements usually range from 2,000 to 2,500 per calendar year, more than 3,400 state employees have either retired or filed their written intentions to do so between January and March 31, 2022 alone. Weve already seen the changing workforce, Luciano said. For retirees who receive their COLAs in January, the trend was more in their favor with three years of inflation increases topping 2 percent. So why might Lamont do something so patently unfair and so politically toxic as awarding pay raises to already overcompensated state workers while most Connecticut citizens and voters have been and still are hurting very badly? 2:19 pm. For some of Connecticuts highest paid pensioners like Jack Blechner, a former UConn Health Center physician who received $342,325.14 in 2020, the COLA amounts to an additional $12,323.70 per year. Part-timers would be eligible for prorated bonuses. She noted that West Virginia recently granted state employees a 5% raise, while Arizona bumped pay for its correction officers by 20% and for workers in many other departments by 10%. The [nonprofit] industry pegs the inflationary loss its taking on these payments at $460 million per year, according to the CT Mirror. Topics you care about, straight to your inbox, More than 46,000 Connecticut state employees could soon get a significant raise -- and bonuses thanks to a new union. Whoops! After leaving IBM, he became chief executive officer of Core Informatics, a software startup that Hartford Business Journal included in its 2017 list of best places to work in Connecticut. The Senate gave final approval Friday to a four-year package of raises for state employees that includes $3,500 in bonuses to help stem a surge in worker retirements. Not the fact that Connecticut has had a big contraction in its workforce during the pandemic of about 6 percent and a top 10 unemployment rate, currently exceeding 7 percent, versus a national average nearing 5 percent. Keith has spent most of his 31 years as a reporter specializing in state government finances, analyzing such topics as income tax equity, waste in government and the complex funding systems behind Connecticuts transportation and social services networks. 4.28.23 We are LIVE with our 11 am/CT. Republicans also said they appreciate the hard work of state employees, particularly during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, but the issue isnt as simple as some believe. state of ct employee step increase 2022 - greeninginc.com Budget panel endorses raises, bonuses for CT state workers Ned Lamont and president of state's network of community colleges square off in showdown over state funding. Ned Lamont and president of state's network of community colleges square off in showdown over state funding. Tier II is a non-contributory defined benefit retirement plan for most members. In 2015, Connecticut paid $1.7 billion to 49,111 retirees, according to the Comptrollers Open Pension website. Marc was a 2014 Robert Novak Journalism Fellow and his work has appeared in The Federalist, American Thinker, The Skeptical Inquirer, World Net Daily and Real Clear Policy. The board has voted to approve the following cost of living increase for January 2023. Breaking from the status quo is very hard I think for people generally, but particularly in government, where you dont have competition the same way you do in the private sector, where if you dont change, if you dont innovate, if you dont find new ways to add value, eventually you go out of business and everybody loses their job. "Often they work in dorms where there are one or two officers to keep peace among 100 of more inmates, said Sean Howard, a corrections officer at Cheshire Correctional Institution. What will our elected officials be working on to improve policy outcomes for Connecticut residents? The one thing we know about Ned Lamont or any Democrat, for that matter is that he will not fight the unions. Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. Josh Geballe, the commissioner of administrative services. Employees would also get a $2,500 bonus if they are employed as of March 31, 2022, and a $1,000 if they are employed July 1, 2022. Connecticut Public Radio | Prior to joining CT Mirror Keith was State Capitol bureau chief for The Journal Inquirer of Manchester, a reporter for the Day of New London, and a former contributing writer to The New York Times. Geballe said the new administrations job is to support, broaden and accelerate those changes. Raising minimum salary levels between 10% to 25% will give many frontline HHSC employees a reprieve from dire financial straits caused by the Texas Legislature's failure to provide across-the-board pay raises to state . Ned Lamont in Darien earlier this month. Thats when more stringent limits on state retirement benefits, negotiated as part of a 2017 concessions deal with unions, take effect. Its also done with the best financial interests of the state at heart.. They are our people, who we count on each day to make us safe, she said. The bonuses, the GOP argued, are hardly the key to retaining workers, as the governor and other Democrats claim. The Office of Fiscal Analysis estimates the package will cost the state $1.87 billion over four years. 13 Weeks . 2 Upcoming Changes for CT State Employees Pensions in 2022 Dannel P. Malloy takes effect. The Florida House and Senate are working on a budget whose bottom line for state workers is a $224 million pay raise - that's about $44 a week, ($2,300 annually) for the 97,000 employees in the . The bonuses, the GOP argued, are hardly the key to retaining workers, as Lamont has claimed. We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. Connecticut Property Taxes In Every Town: Who Pays The Most? Gusty winds add new twist to brush fires in CT, officials say, What's next for the nuclear waste that's been in CT for 50 years, Building emissions are a key climate change contributor in CT, After decades in unmarked grave, CT homicide victim put to rest. EVENT: Mark Pazniokas will sit down with Gov. Hed also like to talk about a classification system that is flexible and provides a career ladder. Negotiators will meet again to determine raises after the time period. The agreements, which unions ratified earlier this spring, are retroactive to the start of this fiscal year, which began last July 1. Thats something we certainly need to work on here.. Pay raise for 46,000 state workers clears key hurdle - News 12 Networks Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. DAS is now working to centralize and streamline H.R. Each year includes a 2.5% general wage increase, as well as a step hike for all but the most senior workers. Connecticut is facing pressure from the private sector, municipalities and other states for its workers, Osten said, adding that the pandemic has made many state jobs less attractive. Connecticut should be a place where everyone can thrive and with your help, it will be. I think all of the stakeholders lament it, but then find the excuses for why we cant change it. CT State Employees Get Scheduled Raise Amid Economic Turmoil

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