Twenty-seven state government departments that function on a seven-hour work day were selected to determine the savings that could result from conversion to an eight-hour work day. Overtime hours were not taken into consideration. State departments that were open for business eight hours a day but in which employees work only seven hours a day on staggered work schedules were omitted.
The twenty-seven departments employed 1,431 persons at a cost of $1,109,733 per month (including employer costs). Conversion to an eight-hour work schedule would have reduced the number of employees by 12.5 percent at a savings of $138,700 per month, or $1,644,000 per year.
The Committee recommended implementation of an eight-hour work standard for all state government employees. Legislation should be adopted to provide for uniform working hours for all state government departments.
For a paper copy of this report, contact PEER by telephone at 601-359-1226 or by e-mail at reports@peer.ms.gov.