State Department of Corrections faces staffing shortage

By SHARON JOHNSON, OLIVIA KALENTEK

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    GLASTONBURY, Connecticut (WFSB) — The Connecticut state department is facing a staffing shortage due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 1,000 Department of Corrections (DOC) employees are recovering from COVID-19. Union leaders say they’ve been dealing with staffing issues for years, and it is now the worst they’ve ever seen.

“There are certain facilities that are just getting, they’re getting crushed. Being mandated, being told you have to work 16-hour days, two, three, four days in a row,” says AFSCME Vice President Steven Wales.

AFSCME Local 1565 Union leaders say these long hours are the result of a severe staffing shortage.

1,116 DOC employees are out with COVID as of Friday.

There are 5,923 DOC employees, meaning nearly 1/5 of the work force is out with COVID.

“Some people get four hours of sleep at most. Physically, you’re drained, mentally, you’re drained. It’s really taking a toll on them,” says Wales.

The DOC had $93 million in overtime in 2021, more than any other state department.

Union officials urged the state to hire more people in 2021 because the DOC was already understaffed.

Officials say COVID has exacerbated conditions, especially in county jails.

“For the past four, five years, we’ve said you need to hire more staff. This is gonna turn into an issue, and COVID doesn’t help,” says Michael Vargo, President of AFSCME Local 1565.

Wales and Vargo say the long hours are also a safety risk.

A DOC spokesperson says they are considering reaching out to retirees and redeploying specialized units to fill vaccines.

The DOC says in a statement:

As an Agency, we are prepared to continue to manage our workforce in the event the numbers continue to increase. However, with the new CDC guidance in effect, we are seeing individuals returning back to work.

Vargo says they need the state to step up hiring.

“We got a surge of new correctional officers in, but then you have a surge of people retiring. This is pretty much worst-case scenario,” says Vargo.

Correctional officers test for COVID weekly, even if they are vaccinated. More than 3,000 DOC employees are vaccinated with the first dose as of Friday.

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