State workers will still be paid despite situation not being explicitly covered by contract
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — A broken water main in downtown Harrisburg forced the shutdown of the state Capitol building Monday and the cancellation of a planned session day for the state House.
State workers will still be paid despite being sent home before 10 a.m.
At 9:30 a.m., the office of Gov. Tom Corbett sent an email to all capitol staffers advising them to evacuate the complex and take the rest of the day off. Lawmakers and staffers trickled out of the building throughout the morning and by lunch time the Capitol was nearly empty.
Dan Egan, spokesperson for the state Department of Administration, said the state workers would still be paid for the day off following the same policy as when the state Capitol has to close because of weather-related issues such as snow storms.
He said the issue was not explicitly built into workers’ contracts, but it came down to having “adequate working conditions.”
“We can’t have hundreds of people in the building all day without the ability to flush the toilets or wash their hands,” Egan said.
The broken pipe was at the corner of Cameron and Herr Streets, about a mile northeast of the Capitol complex, according to the Harrisburg Department of Public Works. The department said a contractor ruptured a fire hydrant line that caused a leak in a 36-inch distribution pipe.
The city had to shut down the system in order to isolate the damaged pipe, which caused reduced water pressure in the Capitol complex and much of the downtown area. As of noon, the city had not given an estimated time for the pipe to be repaired.
David Fillman, executive director for Council 13 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents 65,000 state workers, said emergency situations like Monday’s are not explicitly covered in the union contract, but are handled through outside negotiations with the administration.
Fillman said the workers deserved to be paid in any situation when the closure of the state offices is beyond control.
“This is an emergency situation dealing with the water,” Fillman said. “They had no control over it and they all came to work as they should.”
Capitol police closed the building to visitors around 10 a.m.
The state House canceled committee meetings and a planned afternoon voting session as a result of the water main break. The state House is not scheduled to reconvene until April 26.
The state Senate is not scheduled to meet this week and will also return to session on April 26.
