Ohio Prisons OT Payments Declining But Still High

A new report says the Ohio prison system has paid nearly $315 million in overtime to employees over the past five years. The report issued Wednesday by the Correctional Institution Inspection Committee says total overtime has declined from fiscal year 2010 to fiscal year 2014. However it continues to rise for a core of security employees, including correctional officers. Security staff accounted for 75 percent of overtime - or more than $239 million - during that five-year period. During that period, overtime for officers rose 6.1 percent. Part of the overall decline in Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction overtime payments can be attributed to the fact that two prisons were converted to private operations during the period.