While the state's workforce has steadily declined over the past decade, the level of overtime pay has surged during that period, increasing to nearly $787 million last year and marking the highest level in a decade, according to a state comptroller's report.
The 18.1 million hours of overtime recorded last year by the state's workforce marked a 3.4 percent increase in overtime pay — $25.7 million — from 2017. The State Police, due to their higher rate of pay than other agencies, had the "highest average biweekly overtime earnings" among larger agencies.