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Union and frontline staff warn of staffing crisis; committee asks DOC and VSEA to propose solutions
Summary
Union leaders and a corrections officer told the Joint Legislative Justice Oversight Committee about rising vacancies, repeated 16‑hour shifts and safety concerns; the committee drafted a letter asking DOC and VSEA to collaborate on recruitment and retention solutions for presentation at the December meeting.
Union leaders and corrections staff told lawmakers on Oct. 16 that Vermont is facing an urgent corrections staffing and retention problem that is affecting employee safety and facility operations.
Steve Howard, executive director of the Vermont State Employees Association, said staffing vacancies increased from 15% to 18% since June and described members being forced to work repeated 16‑hour shifts. "We are forcing correctional officers to work 16 hour shift after 16 hour shift after 16 hour shift," Howard said, arguing that exhaustion undermines safety and retention and urging legislative engagement on recruitment, retirement and incentive strategies.
A frontline corrections officer, Sabrina Zahn, testified about the personal toll of long hours. Zahn said she regularly works overnight 16‑hour shifts, gets about four hours of sleep between shifts and worries about safety for staff and residents. "It's bone weary, exhausted and tired," she said, and urged the committee and administration to consider creative, non‑monetary and monetary solutions, including possible changes to how overtime could be credited toward retirement.
Committee members discussed earned‑time expansion and victim‑notification concerns earlier in the meeting and said those topics sharpen the need to ensure current programs and systems function before any enlargement. Several members said they favored pausing expansion of earned time until victim‑notification systems and other implementation issues are resolved.
After hearing testimony, the committee considered a draft letter from legislative staff asking DOC leadership and VSEA to collaborate on recruitment and retention proposals and to present proposed solutions at the committee's December meeting (committee members discussed December 17 as a target date). Ben O'Brien of the Office of Legislative Council read the draft and the committee agreed to refine the language and pursue a joint process.
The committee did not take a formal vote on specific policy changes. Members suggested options to explore, including increased coordination with state HR, pension or retirement enhancements, regional or satellite training academies to accelerate onboarding, and non‑wage incentives. The committee set a deadline for proposed solutions and asked parties to present at the December session.
The letter drafting and the committee’s request for a joint proposal mark a formal oversight step, but the transcript records no agreement on specific statutory changes or funding levels; committee members said additional details and cost estimates will be necessary to evaluate proposals.
