State workers win round as lawmakers consider cuts

By Cy Ryan

Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010 | 4:08 p.m.

CARSON CITY – State workers have won a round as the Legislature continues to look for ways to reduce spending and fix the $887 million deficit.

The Assembly voted Saturday not to further reduce the pay of state employees who were hit in 2009 with an eight-hour furlough a month or a loss of 4.6 percent in wages.

“State employees have been cut enough,” said Assembly Majority Leader John Oceguera, D-Las Vegas.

The Assembly voted 41-1 to reject the plan to force employees to take a 10-hour furlough every month or suffer a 5.75 percent pay cut.

Senate Bill 3, which returns to the Senate for agreement on the Assembly amendment, still includes the provision that state offices will be closed on Friday unless they receive exemptions.

Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, said the furlough issue was top priority, not to hit state workers further. She said they do more and get paid less.

But the worker who does not take the eight-hour furlough will still lose 4.6 percent in his or her salary.

Buckley said cutting back from 10 hours to eight hours will cost $6.8 million in the budget.

The lone no vote was cast by Assemblyman Ed Goedhart, R-Amargosa Valley.

The 10-hour day will require agencies to stay open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday. But those regulatory boards that are financed by fees from the industry will be exempt from the schedule.

Assemblyman John Carpenter, R-Elko, said these boards should be subject to the same rules as state agencies. He said phone calls to some of these boards are unanswered and don’t get returned for three days.

The bill allows agencies and offices to seek exemptions from the 10-hour day. State department would have to get approval from the state Board of Examiners consisting of the governor, attorney general and secretary of state.

The board of regents will determine exemptions for offices in the Nevada System of Higher Education. The Supreme Court, Legislative Commission and the Public Employees Retirement Board will decide on the exemptions in their units.

And any overtime plan must be approved in advance for many of these agencies.

The bill requires correctional officers at the prison to work 12-hour shifts.

The bill originally gave local governments the authority to require furloughs. That has been deleted. But school districts are given the power to require employees to take unpaid furlough leave. But the decisions cannot interfere with the contracts with school teachers.