Lee announces raise for corrections officers

Workers in Tennessee’s prisons and jails are getting a raise, Gov. Bill Lee announced Wednesday, Dec. 15.

Lee bumped up the starting annual salary to $44,500, a 37% increase, according to a statement provided by a spokesperson. All current correctional officers will receive at least a 15% raise. The changes take effect Dec. 16.

The decision follows requests by many of Lee’s cabinet officials, who said the state needed to pay workers more in order to compete in the labor market.

State doesn’t pay enough to compete for workers, department leaders say

Tony Parker, who retired recently after nearly four decades at the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC), was one of them. Parker told Lee, Finance Commissioner Butch Eley and state COO Brandon Gibson that he was forced to make corrections officers work overtime because of the department’s highest-ever vacancy rate.

Read more: https://dailymemphian.com/section/metro/article/25962/workers-in-tennessee-prisons-jails-getting-raise