The state must pay thousands of corrections officers back
pay for their participation in a pilot program that lasted 10
years beyond its experimental phase, a Superior Court
judge says.
If the ruling is allowed to stand, the state will be
responsible for millions of dollars in compensation for new
corrections officers whom the court said worked under a
job title that didn’t officially exist from 1999 to 2009 during
a 14-week training period.
The dispute centers on a program the state began in
January 1998 establishing the pay and training for
newly hired corrections employees. Previously, new
hires, who were classified as corrections officer
recruits, were trained for 14 weeks while they worked at
correctional facilities for a regular salary.
Under the pilot program, new hires worked under the
title student/trainee. The first 12 weeks of training took
place at the State Corrections Officer Training Academy
in Sea Girt, and the final two weeks were held at a
correctional facility. During that 14-week period, they
earned a stipend of no more than $300 a week.
