State employees’ off for Shapiro inauguration

Some 1,200 state government employees who report to the Capitol Complex to work have an extra long weekend ahead of them.

Not only do they have Martin Luther King Day off on Monday, these non-essential employees have Tuesday off to reduce traffic and free up parking for Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro ‘s inauguration, which will take place that day outside the Capitol East Wing, along Commonwealth Avenue.

The estimated cost to taxpayers for this extra paid day off is $440,000. But compared with past years, that’s a relative bargain, thanks to Gov. Tom Wolf’s policy on executive branch employees working remotely.

Those employees who telework, along with essential employees such as Capitol police, will be required to work that day, said Dan Egan, a spokesman for the governor’s Office of Administration.

The longstanding practice of giving state employees a day off for the inauguration has cost taxpayers as much as $2.5 million in past years when most employees reported to the office to work.

State officials have said this decision to give the day off to some employees is strictly for logistical and practical reasons knowing that the inauguration will draw an influx of people to the Capitol Complex to witness the lieutenant governor and governor’s inauguration.

While the Capitol Complex will be closed for business on Tuesday, the Main Capitol Building will be open to the public that day. The Main Capitol Rotunda entrance will be the only public entrance to the building.

Commonwealth Avenue is now closed to through-traffic from North Street to Walnut Street and will remain closed until Jan. 18.

Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphypennlive.com. Follow her on Twitter at JanMurphy.

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