In response to the Governor’s proposal to cut the state budget by $500 million and the preemptive layoffs of union members by some state agencies, the NAPE/AFSCME Board of Directors directed our contract negotiations team to send a proposal to the Governor’s Chief Negotiator to encourage employees over age 55 to retire, in exchange for a greater payout of earned sick leave if they retire by January 31, 2026.
“It was a priority for our members during contract negotiations last year to increase the amount of earned sick leave that was paid out upon retirement,” said NAPE/AFSCME President Melissa Haynes (DHHS, Fremont). “It’s our hope that the Governor will enter into negotiations now to help find a creative solution to help decrease the state workforce by incentivized attrition instead of layoffs.”
Under our current contract, union members who are age 55 or over (or otherwise eligible to retire under state law and NPERS guidelines) receive a one-time cash payout of 25% of their accrued earned sick leave up to a maximum of 480 hours. To incentivize members to retire, in an effort to prevent layoffs, we have proposed doubling the payout and cap for those that elect to retire before January 31, 2026.
“Our hope is to create a win-win situation,” said negotiations team member Dan DeJong (DWEE, Lincoln). “If we can encourage someone to retire and give them more of an incentive, while preventing another employee from being laid off, that’s a benefit to everyone and the state saves money in the long run.”
The governor’s chief negotiator has received our proposal, and we hope to have discussions with the state’s negotiations team in the coming weeks. We have also let the governor’s chief negotiator know we are open to discussing other incentives such as cash bonuses, insurance incentives, and any other creative solutions to provide state employees with more employment security and avoid disrupting state services with layoffs.