State employee layoffs might not initially produce as much budget savings as Governor Dannel Malloy and legislative leaders would like as they try to balance Connecticut's budget.
When those workers are separated from state service, they'll be entitled to unused vacation time reimbursement.
Currently, there's a balance of unused vacation time across state government totaling more than 6 million hours. That's according to data provided by the Department of Administrative Services at the request of The Associated Press.
It works out to an average of 177 hours per employee, or approximately $6,000.
Malloy's budget director acknowledges paying out vacation time will offset some of the savings from layoffs. However, he said the people who are laid off will likely have less seniority and less accrued vacation time and will be well below the average.
