LAS VEGAS — AFSCME Local 4041, the largest and oldest union for Nevada state employees, asked a court on Monday to order Gov. Joe Lombardo and the state of Nevada to pay all state workers the longevity pay they have earned.
During the 82nd legislative session that concluded in June, AFSCME members successfully fought to reinstate funding for longevity pay for any employee with eight or more years of continuous service with the state. A similar program ended in 2013, when the state cut wages and retention incentive programs during the Great Recession.
However, in a memo to state workers, the Lombardo administration said it plans to exclude thousands of dedicated state employees from receiving these longevity pay awards. That prompted Local 4041 to seek a court order, also known as a writ of mandamus, from the Carson City District Court to overturn what the union says is an “unlawful” move by the governor and his administration.
“We make a career out of state service because we care about our communities. I am proud of my over 25 years with the state, and the thousands of people I have helped rehabilitate so they can go on to live their best lives,” said Patricia Wright, a mental health technician at Rawson Neal Psychiatric Hospital in Las Vegas and member of Local 4041. “It’s a slap in the face to front-line health care workers like me and my co-workers to be excluded from an award we rightfully earned.”
This marks the second time this year that Local 4041 has battled Lombardo. This news article has more details.