By C1 Staff
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A fix to a multi-million dollar back pay issue in Arkansas could be in the form of a bill that didn’t make it past a committee in the special legislative session.
FOX News reports that the bill would add roughly $5 million to the Arkansas Department of Corrections’ budget each year to cover holiday comp time pay.
As of now, the system owes 3,355 employees more than $8.7 million in pay for holiday hours they’ve already worked or are owed as comp time.
“This is money people are owed,” Representative Jim Nickels said, who has been trying to address the issue for some time. “We have an inmate that has escaped and as I understand it there will be some correctional officers still working to capture him this weekend.
“On July 4th, they’ll be working to bring him back into custody, but they won’t be receiving pay for it.”
The DOC states that they have been requesting an additional $4.5 be added into the base budget. Thus far, that hasn’t occurred and has left the system to look for ways to cover the costs even as the hours accrue.
The DOC says one officer is owed more than 700 work hours. They’re hoping the issue will be addressed during fall budget hearings and resolved during the next General Session.