Colorado Department of Corrections demands for employees to give back $$ in pay draws strong reaction
Working as a parole officer in Colorado means long and dangerous hours.
"You are dealing with these same convicted felons; however, they are not under constant supervision like at the facility, so they have access to weapons and drugs as readily as they want them to be," one anonymous employee said.
CBS News Colorado spoke with two Colorado Department of Corrections employees who asked to remain anonymous but sounded the alarm on the issue in March. They were told that raises that came with promotions they received years ago were made in error.
The result: a pay cut and a bill.
"At this point, I'm getting money deducted from me. Now they're about to force me to repay the overpayment, which is going to be almost $800 to $1,000 out of my check for the next two years," the same employee added.
Both staff members CBS Colorado spoke with applied for new positions and claimed they were told during that process they would receive a 10% raise, a major factor in their decisions to accept the positions.
They were indeed given that raise.
"You take a job, you get assured you are going to get paid a certain amount, just to find out that you're not, and then you owe the state more money," the second anonymous employee said.
According to Internal Department of Corrections emails, it doesn't know what was promised to the employees because it doesn't provide offer letters.
The department didn't agree with the 10% raises the employees received and determined it was an overpayment. Once that happens, the State Auditor's Office is forced to collect.
In a statement, the spokesperson for that office said they "do not have a part in determining whether or not an overpayment was made. That is determined at the department level."
In this case, those employees and state Sen. Mark Baisley, believe the DOC got it wrong.
"We all settle into living within what our take-home pay is, so if their take-home pay is suddenly less, that's rough. And then it's suddenly less plus a loan repayment, that's just unacceptable," Baisley said.
The state defines an overpayment as "any payment that results from overstating the rate of pay, overstating the hours worked, understating the employee deductions, or any other payments to which the employee is not entitled."
Baisley says that the entitlement clause is where his concern lies.
"Those employees were hired with the understanding of that level of compensation and then began receiving it," Baisley said.
He's now pushing the Department of Corrections and the state auditor to find a solution and says they can't point to a clear authority.
"We all do what the governor tells us to, so maybe that's where the answer lies," Baisley said.
Meanwhile, families caught in the middle are fighting to get their lives back on track.
"It shows no support to their staff in my eyes if they would take the risk of one of their dedicated officers possibly being out on the streets because he can't pay his mortgage or put food in his family's mouth," one of the employers said.
The DOC reportedly made a request to the State Controller's Office to forgive the overpayments. The office said it does not have that authority.
CBS News Colorado asked the Department of Corrections if it can revisit the two cases and reassess the alleged overpayments and have not heard back.
