DiNapoli: state-agency overtime spending rises 7 percent in first half

State agencies spent more than $316 million on overtimein the first six months of this year, an increase of $22 million, or more than 7 percent, compared to the same period in 2013.

New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced the figures in a news release his office distributed this week.

State employees worked more than 7.8 million overtime hours, up 7.6 percent over the same period in 2013.

This “troubling trend” could again result in a “record-breaking” year of overtime hours and overtime pay, DiNapoli said in the news release.

“Our state agencies need to examine their practices, get to the root of what is driving high overtime and better manage these costs,” said DiNapoli.

DiNapoli’s office said it “routinely” issues reports on ways to improve the efficiency of state operations, including periodic reports on how state agencies manage overtime.

The total cost of overtime as a percentage of gross payroll rose slightly from 3.9 percent to 4.3 percent in the first six months of 2014.

If the state’s overtime spending continues to rise at this pace, total costs for 2014 could exceed $640 million, DiNapoli’s office said.

Last year, overtime at state agencies rose nearly 16 percent to a record $611 million, the office added.

Four agencies accounted for nearly 98 percent of the statewide increase in overtime costs in the first six months of 2014. They were the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, the New York State Office of Mental Health, the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, and the New York State Department of Taxation & Finance.

The first three of those agencies accounted for nearly 63 percent of total overtime spending and more than 63 percent of all overtime hours worked, according to DiNapoli’s office.

Other state agencies decreased overtime spending in the first six months of 2014.

The highest percentage decreases among agencies which spent at least $500,000 on overtime included the New York State Department of Labor, where spending fell nearly 72 percent. The New York State Division of Homeland Security saw overtime spending fall 67 percent, and the New York State Department of Financial Services spent 65 percent less on overtime, according to data that DiNapoli’s office provided.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com