South Dakota prison employees will receive temporary bonuses and raises for certain kinds of work, according to an email obtained by SDPB.
The changes come after an anonymous complaint about pay, safety, nepotism and other concerns at the State Penitentiary.
Current and former prison workers say they are underpaid given the dangers of the job and in comparison to workers at county jails and neighboring state prisons.
“We are committed to immediate changes to improve the experience of our teammates working in our correctional institutions,” Interim Secretary of Corrections Tim Reisch wrote in a Thursday email.
Reisch said all prison employees will be eligible for retention bonuses worth up to $2,500 dollars. Hourly employees who work overnight shifts will get $1.50 more per hour and double pay when working voluntary overtime.
These “short-term changes” will last through March 2022 “as the governor and Legislature work to find sustainable, long-term solutions for our employees,” Reisch said.
Eric Ollila is the director of the South Dakota State Employees Organization, which advocates for state workers. He hopes these temporary changes are just the beginning.
“It sounds like a good holdover, temporary waystation on the way to an effective compensation and benefits plan for all state government employees,” Ollila said.
The raises and bonuses are being funded by the existing Department of Corrections budget, according to Jordan Overturf, a spokesman for Governor Kristi Noem. Overturf declined to explain how the DOC found room for this unexpected cost but said it won’t impact operations.
A detailed review of conditions, programs and staff at all state prisons is ongoing.