Malloy Takes First Steps Toward 4200 Layoffs, Insists Moves Are Only Procedural For Now – Hartford Courant

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's administration is taking the first steps toward a layoff contingency plan for state employees, which requires detailed notification of the unions before any layoff notices go out.

Malloy has warned there could be as many as 4,200 layoffs if the administration cannot reach an agreement with the unions in closed-door talks to save $700 million next year and balance the state budget. The confidential talks have been ongoing for months without an agreement.

As part of the plan, the first wave of about 1,100 employees would be notified in May of layoffs if no deal is reached. The contingency also includes eliminating more than 120 vacant positions, officials said Thursday.

Malloy said Thursday that the notifications are based on timing in union contracts and were not designed to speed up the closed-door negotiations.

"First and foremost, it is not being done for leverage,'' Malloy told reporters at the Capitol. "I always said we would go forward when we had to go forward. We have reached the time that we have to go forward. It is not for the purposes of trying to obtain an edge or blow up discussions. It just is a legal requirement, and that's what we're doing. ... We are at the point where we have to start giving those notices.''

He added, "This is not saber-rattling. This has been warned of for a long period of time.''

No layoff notices have been sent to employees, but officials are trying to set the timing for layoffs that would begin in the new fiscal year that starts on July 1. Nonunion employees with more than 15 years of service must get at least eight weeks' notice before being laid off. The newest employees get two weeks' notice.

The contingency of 4,200 layoffs which would not happen if a concession deal is reached would touch more than 50 departments and agencies. Those range from the state police and the governor's office to the departments of labor and agriculture.

The 4,200 layoffs would include 567 employees in the prisons, 403 in the judicial branch, and 319 employees each at the Department of Transportation and the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, according to numbers released by Malloy's budget office. The Department of Children and Families would face 300 layoffs. In addition, the total would reach nearly 200 at UConn and 158 at UConn Health. The judicial branch declined comment Thursday.

With salaries and benefits, the state expects to save an average of about $100,000 per layoff totaling $400 million for 4,200 employees. The savings from the initial plan of 1,100 layoffs would be more than $80 million annually, Malloy said.

State employees and union leaders are not happy with the possibility of layoffs.

"Cutting jobs is no way to achieve shared prosperity," AFT Connecticut President Jan Hochadel said in comments posted on the union website. "Layoffs hurt local economies in the short-term and will lead to an even deeper fiscal crisis for our state down the road. What we need is not more austerity, but a more balanced approach."

Although Malloy and union officials have refused to reveal any details of the union talks, Malloy said he was still hopeful for a deal.

"We didn't jump the gun on giving those notices because we didn't want to appear to be precipitous or trying to affect negotiations,'' Malloy said. "We left it to the latest possible dates that we could engage in that activity. I'm hopeful that those layoffs will not be required, but we've got to honor the contract.''

When asked if he was trying to extend the State Employee Bargaining Agent Coalition agreement by five years, Malloy said he would not negotiate the deal in the press. But he did not back off from his already-announced plan for potential layoffs.

"In the absence of agreements, we will take a number of steps, including additional layoffs, if it is required, and I hope it's not required,'' Malloy said.

Joe Gaetano, president of the union that represents judicial marshals, said the marshals have already been "hard hit'' by previous layoffs, "and further reducing the number of marshals would have a dangerous impact on public safety and on the efficient and safe workflow at the state's 43 courthouses.''

He added, "Connecticut is one of the richest states in the country. We encourage the governor and the legislature to find budget solutions that don't gut state services, endanger the public or put thousands of state workers out of jobs."

The administration is modeling its plans based on procedures from layoffs that began in 2011. At that time, agency heads receive a memo with about 50 pages of instructions on the exact steps that needed to be taken.

"Prior to deciding to lay off an employee, the agency must provide the employee with oral or written notice of the possible layoff, the reasons for it, and a specific time and place for a meeting with the appointing authority or designee where the employee will be given an opportunity to present any information he/she deems pertinent,'' according to the procedures for managerial and nonunion employees. "The purpose of the meeting is to determine if there are alternatives to layoff or whether the wrong employee has been selected for layoff.''

The documents sent to agency heads in 2011 also said the reason for the layoff should be outlined. Those reasons, outlined in the documents, included "lack of work, economy, insufficient appropriation, change in departmental organization, abolition of position or other cause.''

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Malloy Takes First Steps Toward 4200 Layoffs, Insists Moves Are Only Procedural For Now - Hartford Courant