Longevity Bonuses Still Happen

While most veteran unionized employees are forfeiting their longevity pay as part of the labor concession deal, thousands of non-union workers, including several top officials in Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's administration, will share millions of dollars in seniority bonuses next month.
The Department of Administrative Services declined Thursday to release a preliminary list of staff slated to receive longevity payments next month. Department spokesman Jeffrey Beckham said it still was being adjusted to reflect resignations, retirements and layoffs over the past six months. But longevity pay is issued twice yearly and 3,599 non-union staff received such bonuses, worth about $7 million in April.
Malloy's budget chief argued that a new longevity cap imposed on non-union employees earlier this year will save more money over the next 30 years. But he conceded that the administration executives and managers with the most years of service will sacrifice nothing.
Ironically, non-union workers would have shared in the longevity pay cutbacks had union workers approved the first labor concession deal. After that deal was rejected in June, however, legislation cutting bonuses for non-union workers was repealed, and it wasn't reinstated when the deal passed in a second vote.
Key lawmakers from both parties were surprised to learn that the cuts in longevity pay for non-union workers had been revoked.
"This is not apples and apples," said House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero, R-Norwalk, one of Malloy's most vocal critics. Cafero noted that while Malloy imposed an across-the-board longevity bonus cap on his top executives in January, many of those same executives will collect thousands of dollars in bonuses in a few weeks. "What looked like a grand fiscal gesture in January has turned out to be a windfall in October for Malloy's senior staff," he said. "Where is the shared sacrifice?"

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