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Benjamin Barnes, secretary of the state Office of Policy and Management, made the announcement of the layoffs, which combined with office closures, consolidations and mergers will result in recurring savings to the Department of over $16 million.
“It is extraordinarily difficult to have to reduce staff, especially given the enormous contributions of these Department of Labor employees in getting Connecticut residents back to work during our long struggle to bring down unemployment in the state,” said Barnes. “We are all fully committed to helping these valuable employees find new positions in state government or elsewhere, as soon as possible.”
The Connecticut Department of Labor employs about 800 employees, with 700 paid with federal funds. It represents a staff reduction of about 11 percent.
The federal formula reduces funding when overall and state-by-state unemployment goes down. Connecticut’s unemployment rate is now 5.7 percent, down from over 9 percent in 2010 and 2011.
At least six other states, including neighboring Rhode Island, have laid off staff as a result of cuts in federal funding.
In total, 95 positions will be eliminated in the department, as part of a cost saving and consolidation effort in response to the drop in federal funding.
This plan includes:
- reducing the number of American Job Centers from 11 to six, in Danielson, Bridgeport, Hamden, Hartford, New London and Waterbury;
- consolidating adjudications into three locations in Bridgeport, Middletown and Central Office;
- consolidating field audits into six locations in Bridgeport, Danielson, Hartford, Middletown, New London, Waterbury and Central Office;
- reducing locations for appeals to two in Waterbury and Middletown; and
- merging two call centers, which will be consolidated into Middletown.
The Department of Labor, working with the Office of Labor Relations and the Office of Policy and Management, is providing the notices to the employees.
Under the collective bargaining agreements that cover these employees, the state must provide at least six weeks of notice of layoffs, which will be effective Oct. 1.
In addition, many employees whose positions have been eliminated may have “bumping” rights, either within the Department of Labor or, in some cases, across state government, Barnes said. As a result, additional layoff notices may be provided in the coming weeks.
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