State Layoff Notices Imminent

Governor Dannel Malloy’s office confirmed Thursday that layoff notices are expected to go out “very soon,” to as many as 1,100 state employees.

The notices are a legal requirement based on collective bargaining agreements to inform employees that their position may be eliminated.

Even though the notices are distributed, some employees have what are referred to as, “bumping rights,” which allows the employee a limited ability to move into another position.

"Just because somebody gets a pink slip doesn't mean they're going to be laid off,” said Lori Pelletier with the Connecticut AFL-CIO.

The governor’s administration is currently in negotiations with the State Employee Bargaining Coalition, known as SEBAC, as it tries to secure hundreds of millions in concessions in an effort to save money.

Such concessions, Malloy has said, are needed in order to avoid employee layoffs.

Organized labor has said collectively that both union leaders and rank and file members are disappointed the governor and lawmakers are choosing state workers as the first route to balance the state budget, and not looking at things like tax breaks, loopholes, and higher taxes on the wealthy.

Raising the minimum wage has also been mentioned by union groups as a way to generate activity.

The layoffs, they say, could make running the state of Connecticut even more difficult.

"What government needs to do isn't going away,” said Pelletier. “We're just going to do it with less people and basically say sorry and that doesn't work."

Overall, Malloy has said as many as 4,200 workers could be targeted for layoffs as a way to reach savings targets, if his administration can’t secure $700 million in annual concessions from organized labor.

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