By C1 Staff
HOUSTON — A bonus program intended to keep recruits from walking away from the job failed more than half the time, according to ABC News.
The program offered a $4,000 bonus to recruits who commit to working at least one year in any of the 16 prisons with hard-to-fill vacancies.
But the issue with the program is that the money is given to recruits within weeks of their starting date, not after they’ve completed their side of the bargain.
A total of 3,441 recruits have walked off the job before their year was up, many taking the bonus with them. There are also few provisions to get the bonus money back if recruits walk off the job before their year-commitment is up.
Officials say they can keep the recruit’s last paycheck and give their name to the state comptroller, but there’s not much else they can do aside from sending the former employee an invoice.
TDCJ spokesman Jason Clark defended the program, saying that it has helped retain officers. The resignation rate since the inception of the program has dropped from 42 percent to 34 percent.
He said the bonus would be an ineffective draw if the TDCJ held on to it for a year.
“You’re giving them up-front money so they can go and establish themselves in areas where, honestly, it’s difficult to establish yourself because the housing market is difficult,” Clark said.
Corrections officer and local Huntsville union chief Lance Lowry called the program “putting a Band-Aid on a bullet hole.”
“The bonus system is a waste of money and a waste of taxpayer dollars,” he said. He argues that better pay is needed across the board.