Pay raises delayed for state court employees
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NYSSCOA President Patrick Cullen ripped the state for delaying pay raises for more than 100,000 public employees. Photo via NYSSCOA
By David Brand
New York court system employees will not be getting their contractual pay raises for “several months” as the state contends with revenue loss related to the COVID-19 crisis, officials said Thursday.
The state announced the pay delay in an email to non-judicial personnel Thursday, explaining that the “painful measure” was the result of a drastic decrease in revenue during the COVID-19 crisis.
The 2 percent pay raises included in state employees’ contract were set to take effect on April 1. The state initially informed employees of the executive branch about the delay before deciding to also curb the raise for judiciary branch staff as well, according to a memo from Office of Court Administration Executive Director John McConnell and Chief of Operations Nancy Barry.
The decision has outraged unions that represent employees who have continued to staff the courthouses despite the coronavirus crisis.
“It’s unconscionable when the state has asked our members and many, many state employees across many agencies to step up when the need is greatest,” said Patrick Cullen, president of the New York State Supreme Court Officers Association. “They have now turned away and said, ‘Thanks for nothing.’”
The raises will be delayed at least 90 days, which means they will not take effect until at least July.
Cullen called the decision to halt raises for more than 100,000 state employees a “classic page out of the Cuomo playbook”
“When the cameras are on, it’s extolling the virtues of the people who put their lives on the line, the people who operate the state at all levels,” he said. “Then when the doors are closed it’s a knife in the back.”
The judicial branch of the state government has a budget separate from the executive branch and did not have to delay the raises, Cullen said.
But OCA spokesperson Lucian Chalfen said the money all comes from the “same pool of state tax revenues.”
“We are in the middle of an unprecedented situation,” Chalfen said. “We are preparing for what may be a devastating budget year and our budget is subject to revisions which unfortunately could be drastic.”
