Civil Service Commissioner concerned about privatizing some state jobs

The Jindal administration could be making a mistake as it tries to turn over some state government jobs to the private sector, Civil Service Commission member Lee Griffin said Wednesday.

Griffin questioned administration officials who updated the commission on the potential privatization of some operations of the state’s Office of Risk Management —its self-insurance program — and the Office of State Building and Grounds.

Requests for proposals from private business require companies to hire state employees who otherwise would be losing their jobs.

In each case, some 80 state employees would lose their state jobs if the administration decides that a private business can provide the services “in a more cost-beneficial way,” said Barbara Goodson, assistant commissioner of administration. “It’s tying the hands of the vendor — by setting the number of employees it would hire,” Griffin said. That could affect the financial savings of any proposal submitted, he said.

The commission must sign-off on contracts that eliminate state classified employee jobs.