Officials watch overtime of state employees so it doesn’t rise with furloughs

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Officials say they’ll be watching the overtime put in by state employees to make sure it doesn’t increase because of the unpaid furloughs those workers have to take.

The Wisconsin State Journal said 50 motor vehicle employees have been offered overtime to reduce a backlog of title and registration requests.

And it came right after all Department of Motor Vehicles offices around the state were closed last Friday due to the furloughs.

But Chris Klein of the Department of Transportation said his agency would have the same amount of overtime without the furloughs – and the department is only paying about half the overtime it did last summer.

Officials said the Madison office normally has more overtime in August, as employees cover those on vacations to handle backlogs of title and vehicle applications.

Gov. Jim Doyle ordered all state workers to take 16 unpaid days off during the next two years to help cover the budget deficit.

And he said the state had to be careful not to create more overtime due to the lost workdays.

Friday, the state Vital Records Office and unemployment call centers will be closed due to the furloughs.

And Senate GOP Minority Leader Scott Fitzgerald asked if it’s better to stagger the furloughs and keep the offices open so the public still gets served.

Peg Schmitt of the DOT said her agency thought it was better to close for a day, instead of making customers wait longer at offices which are understaffed.

Tags: state employees, wisconsin, overtime, furloughs