State agencies spent more than $337 million on overtime in the first six months of 2015, a jump of $21 million over the same period in 2014, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced today.

State employees worked more than 8.2 million overtime hours, up 5 percent over the same period in 2014. 

If overtime continues to rise at this pace, total costs for 2015 would exceed $700 million, an all-time record. 

“Even without counting the additional overtime caused by the prison-break in June, overtime has escalated at a record pace,” DiNapoli said. “State agencies should scrutinize their management practices and see what changes can be made to reduce their reliance on overtime.” 

The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision and the Division of State Police overtime costs for June and July 2015 jumped by more than $22 million over last year. But the mid-year totals reflect only a small portion of overtime costs incurred in the statewide search for the two escapees from the Clinton Correctional Facility.  Most of the overtime for the prisoner search was paid in July, which is not included in the mid-year analysis. 

Overtime costs have been rising since 2010. For the five-year period ending in 2014, overtime earnings were up nearly 50 percent. During that same period, the number of state agency employees declined by more than eight percent to 251,829.

Three agencies that operate institutional facilities – the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision and the Office of Mental Health – accounted for 63 percent of total overtime spending in the first six months of 2015. 

DiNapoli’s office routinely issues reports on ways to improve the efficiency of state operations, including periodic reports on how overtime is managed by state agencies. 

For overtime spending data, click here: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/sites/default/files/other/documents/pdf/2019-04/comparison-overtime-earnings-2014-2015.pdf

For overtime hours data, click here:  http://www.osc.state.ny.us/sites/default/files/other/documents/pdf/2019-04/comparison-overtime-hours-2014-2015.pdf