Bill to alter controversial 28-day prison schedule fails

Despite previous calls from correctional officers to abandon a controversial 28-day work schedule, a panel of Tennessee lawmakers aren't interested in undoing the work of the Tennessee Department of Correction.

A bill, sponsored by Rep. John Mark Windle, D-Livingston, seeks to implement an idea that was included in a review of the state's prison system that the American Correctional Association performed last year. The review came after The Tennessean and other media published reports of safety and staffing issues in Tennessee prisons.

The ACA review included a recommendation that the state Department of Correction replace the currently used 28-day schedule with a traditional 40-hour workweek, suggesting officers work six days and then take three days off.

Opponents, which include the Tennessee State Employees Association, say the 28-day schedule unfairly delays overtime payments, which ends up decreasing the amount of money an officer takes home. They also argue the current system is leading to more vacancies, which is forcing the remaining officers to work more and creating unduly unsafe environments.

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While introducing the measure, Windle said the bill would directly impact the thousands of people who work in a dangerous environment that includes murderers, rapists and child molesters.

Windle explained that most of the men and women who work in the state's prison system have to have a second job, arguing the starting salaries are very low. He also said the current work cycle prevents people from having a consistent schedule because it is done on a rotating basis.

"Simply put, it's keeping people from working," Windle said.

Rep. Bud Hulsey, R-Kingsport, took issue with the bill, saying that the department came up with the current schedule after a two-year review.

"I have a real problem sometimes with my role as a legislator on how far do I stick my nose into (the) state's business," he said.

Retention has become such an issue that every prison in the state has had to keep a retention officer on staff, Windle explained. "We've never had to do that before," he said.

But House state government subcommittee chairman Bill Sanderson, R-Kenton, said Windle's legislation circumvents the department's ability to make its own rules.

"I feel like as Representative Hulsey mentioned that it may be a little premature for us to move forward on something like this," he said.

The issue is one that Democratic lawmakers sought to change this session. In January, Nashville Democrats Sen. Jeff Yarbro, Rep. Sherry Jones and Rep. Mike Stewart said eliminating the 28-day work schedule and replacing it with a 14-day schedule was among a series of legislative moves they hoped could be done in hopes of making improvements to the state's prison system.

In a different hearing, department Commissioner Derrick Schofield said on Wednesday there are roughly 280 vacant positions among the roughly 3,000 total correctional officers posts. He also noted every facility operates on the 28-day work schedule.

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The subcommittee ultimately voted down Windle's legislation, making any chance of legally changing the work schedule for the state's correctional officers unlikely this year.

In accordance with the ACA review, Schofield and the department allowed facilities to change some aspects of their schedules. Those new schedules — which involve hours worked in a day or the number of days officers work in any given week and not the 28-day work schedule payment system — went into effect earlier this year.

Dave Boucher contributed to this report.

Reach Joel Ebert at 615-259-8379 and on Twitter @joelebert29.