Prison and NHP workers protest cuts planned for swing, graveyard shifts

A group of state workers - primarily in corrections and the highway patrol - asked the state on Monday not to cut back their differential pay for working the swing and graveyard shifts.

The money-saving regulations were designed to meet tight and reduced budgets imposed by the 2011 Legislature. In corrections, they are expected to save about $2 million over the biennium.

While the plan would reduce the number of hours for which a worker could claim the 5 percent differential pay during a swing or graveyard shift, it doesn't eliminate the pay, according to Director of Administration Jeff Mohlenkamp.

But workers testified at Monday's hearing on the plan that it's another hit to their pay and benefits on top of a long list of changes. They pointed to the 2.5 percent pay cut for all employees, six unpaid furlough days each year, the continued suspension of longevity and merit pay as well as the increase in retirement premiums and higher out-of-pocket costs for state benefits.

"What's really happening is it's as though the state of Nevada is going through the couch cushions looking for nickels and dimes," said Priscilla Maloney of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

Ron Larsen, representing the highway patrol association, said the cuts don't make a lot of sense to him because 97 percent of the NHP budget comes from highway funds, which means the changes won't save the state any significant General Fund money.

Axel James, representing NHP officers in southern Nevada, described the plan as "pound-foolish and penny-wise."

The proposed regulation will probably come before the Personnel Commission in October or November for a vote, then go to the Legislative Commission for implementation. No vote was taken at Monday's hearing.

Currently, workers qualify for differential pay if they work between 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. The proposed regulation would shorten that by two hours, to 7 p.m.-6 a.m., and limit the differential to no more than eight hours in a shift.

Mohlenkamp said currently, some employees can work two back-to-back shifts - the first on graveyard and the second on day shift - and claim 16 hours of differential pay because they were on the job that long continuously. He said that's not fair to other workers on the same day shift who don't get differential pay.

He also told employees at the hearing that the reductions are far smaller than originally contemplated to balance the budget. He added that, if the regulation doesn't pass, there will be no way for the Department of Corrections to offer officers the 12-hour shifts they have been asking for. He said because of the money involved, corrections will have to eliminate those shifts and go for straight eight-hour shifts.

"If this does not go through, the Department of Corrections will have no choice," he said.

Mohlenkamp said those affected are almost all on swing-shift schedules. Those on the graveyard shift, he said, will still qualify for the full eight hours of differential pay.

Director of Corrections Greg Cox promised to work with correctional associations to minimize the impact.

"However, I have a budget target to meet," he said.