DeSantis' gift of additional paid days off doesn't help all state workers

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – JULY 16: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks on stage during the second day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 16, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ surprise year-end announcement that state workers will receive additional paid time off for the holidays does not apply to about 10% of the lowest-paid state workers.

Essentially, they are being furloughed.

On Tuesday, DeSantis released on

More:DeSantis delivers early Christmas gift with additional days off for state workers

To be sure, DeSantis has been quite generous to state workers during his five years in office, creating extended holiday weekends whenever possible — such as a four-day Fourth of July weekend earlier this year by closing state offices on Friday, July 5.

But state law prohibits him from extending that generosity to a class of workers classified as “other personal services” — known in Tallahassee as “OPS,” the part-time workers hired to fill temporary staffing shortages.

According to the Department of Management Services’ annual workforce report, more than 9,900 OPS employees are employed by 30 state agencies.

OPS employees are typically part-time office workers who receive the minimum wage of $13. However, some are professionals such as nurses, analysts and law enforcement officers who have been employed for an extended period of time with limited services.

Under state law, OPS employees are “not entitled to paid vacation, paid vacation, or a paid personal day.” And the DMS OPS manual states: “The OPS employee will not receive compensation for… hours not worked.”

That means DeSantis is giving away three additional holidays around Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. What is a five-day paid holiday at the end of the year for most state employees is the equivalent of a week without pay for OPS employees.

Requests for comment are pending with both DMS and DeSantis’ office.

A state employee who did not want to be named contacted the Tallahassee Democrat and told him he had worked as an OPS employee for years and had learned to allow for additional unpaid time off.

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DeSantis’ gift of additional paid days off doesn’t help all state workers

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