HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

10

TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE AUDITOR TO REVIEW AND REPORT ON STATE CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES' LEAVE POLICIES AND CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS' LEAVE USAGE RATES.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, public employees of the State of Hawaii, including state correctional officers, are afforded numerous different benefits, including up to twenty-one days of paid sick leave per year which can be accumulated for use upon retirement as additional service credit; and

 

     WHEREAS, there have been numerous allegations made in the media concerning alleged abuses of sick leave by correctional officers, leading to operational problems and increased costs to the State; and

 

     WHEREAS, a report in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser discovered that at Oahu Community Correctional Center, on New Year's Day, 2013, eighty-two of two hundred twelve correctional officers scheduled to work called in sick, and on New Year's Day, 2014, fifty-three correctional officers called in sick; and

 

     WHEREAS, on certain days throughout the year, such as national sporting events, reports by media outlets Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Hawaii News Now show that a substantial number of correctional officers called in sick for work; and

 

     WHEREAS, abuse of sick leave by correctional officers can cause critical staffing shortages in correctional facilities and force the use of overtime by remaining staff members, which has contributed to costs in corrections overtime incurred by the Department of Public Safety of $6,330,501 in Fiscal Year 2010, $5,816,032 in Fiscal Year 2011, $8,700,706 in Fiscal Year 2012, $7,069,404 in Fiscal Year 2013, and $9,101,109 in Fiscal Year 2014; and
     WHEREAS, the Department of Public Safety released numerous postings on its website throughout 2014 stating that visitation days for inmates were cancelled at multiple correctional facilities statewide due to staffing shortages; and

 

     WHEREAS, a report by Hawaii News Now covered the death of a correctional officer who, on June 15, 2013, was left alone at his post in Oahu Community Correctional Center after over sixty-six officers called in sick, and who died at a nearby hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest on the job and having to wait thirty minutes in the locked post before getting treatment; and

 

     WHEREAS, the safety and security of inmates, other correctional officers, and residents of surrounding communities may be jeopardized due to staffing shortages at correctional facilities; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, the Senate concurring, that the Auditor is requested to conduct a review of all state correctional facilities' leave policies and leave usage rates by correctional officers; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor determine whether the abuse of such policies is causing operational disruptions, exposing the State to unnecessary costs, or endangering the safety of inmates, staff, and the surrounding community; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor submit a report of findings and recommendations, including proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2016 Regular Session; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Auditor and the Director of Public Safety.

Report Title: 

Correctional Officers; Sick Leave Abuse; Auditor