LANSING — Corrections officers at Michigan prisons are waiting for lawmakers to resolve a logjam over legislation to add them to the State Police pension program.

he Department of Corrections and the union representing the officers say the measure is necessary to combat a long-running staffing shortage at the prisons

“We believe this legislation is pivotal,” said Byron Osborn, the president of Michigan Corrections Organization, the union for the officers, “It draws in interested applicants who want to make a career out of this.”

The change would give corrections workers and other state law enforcement officers an option to leave the State Employees Retirement System for the State Police pension plan. They could use funds in their existing plan to purchase retirement credits in the State Police pension system.

The proposal is among nine bills from the last legislative session that have not yet been sent to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for signature.

Republican House Speaker Matt Hall of Richland has declined to send the bills to the governor while undergoing legal review, while Democratic members of the Senate are contemplating legal action to force the issue.

Officials say working as a corrections officer is physically and mentally challenging.

The staff shortage means mandatory overtime, with many not getting much time outside work for anything besides sleeping, Osborn said.

“So many people are leaving the job because of the ridiculous amount of hours they are being required to work,” added Osborn.

“The way the overtime works in the prison system is, if the oncoming shift is short 20 workers, then they will take 20 workers from the departing shift and make them work a double, a sixteen hour day. In many cases it’s happening on back-to-back days,” he said.

Grand Valley State University criminal justice professor Brian Johnson said that while corrections officers’ retirement benefits are not great currently, once the pension option is available, it will help keep more officers on the job.

“Now we have to ask ourselves how many individuals want a career in corrections where you’re working in a custodial prison setting,” Johnson said.

“Would I want to work in a custodial setting and have to deal with inmates on a daily basis?” he said.

“Raising the pension is a means to not only attract, but to retain individuals,” he said.

A Corrections Department report said its training academy enrollment was 281 in October 2024, making it the largest incoming class since 2015.