Nevada prison system overtime pay continues to spiral; officers criticize state leaders

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Leaders from Nevada’s correctional officers union bemoaned the prison system’s widespread staffing shortages and worsening overtime payouts, pointing fingers at everyone from the governor’s office and agency director to state lawmakers.

Data presented at Thursday’s Interim Finance Committee meeting — a group of lawmakers that makes spending decisions when the Legislature is not in session — shows the Nevada Department of Corrections (NDOC) paid out more than $18 million in overtime from July through September 2025. It marked a more than $7 million surge from the prior three months and the highest quarterly amount of overtime spending for the agency in at least two years.

This report covered the time period when the agency resumed normal operations after six months of new efforts to curb overtime, such as limiting visitation hours. This caused overtime costs to jump again, and the agency decided last month to resume its overtime reduction plan.

Overtime costs for Nevada’s prison system have spiraled for years, but the issue became more prominent last year when the agency faced a $53 million deficit because of the payouts.

Officials from the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 21 said at the Thursday meeting that the issue stems from a severe lack of staff at state prisons, an assertion backed up by a third-party review last year that said the system needs more than 700 new positions.

“Adequately staffing protects not only the public and the offender population, but also the officers who are tasked with maintaining order,” said Robert Ashcraft, a union leader and sergeant at High Desert State Prison. “If we cannot ensure our own safety, we cannot effectively ensure the safety of those in our custody.”

Lawmakers didn’t discuss the report, but the agency outlined reasons in meeting documents for the high overtime and its efforts to right the ship. It said it is implementing a quarterly sick leave report, reassigning certain positions and requiring that all overtime requests receive approval from a warden.

State officials conceded in meeting materials that despite their efforts, the agency “continues to encounter challenges stemming from insufficient staffing … particularly in positions not authorized by the Legislature.”

“NDOC will continue to explore recruitment initiatives and implement best practices aimed at monitoring and reducing overtime,” agency leaders said.

Still, Paul Lunkwitz, the union president, told lawmakers Thursday that part of the blame rests with NDOC’s director, James Dzurenda.

“He is appointed, which means he cannot point out your mistakes if he wants to keep his job,” Lunkwitz said. “The director has tried delicately to illustrate why this problem exists and what it will take to cure it. He has been too delicate.”

In an interview with The Nevada Independent, Lunkwitz added “there’s not enough people that are stepping up saying, ‘we need to do better here.’”

“It’s always ‘This person is doing this, this person is doing that,’” Lunkwitz said. “They need to own part of this.”

NDOC did not respond to a request for comment.

There is consensus among officers and agency leaders that a key driver of the surging overtime costs is because of officers having to accompany prisoners to hospitals, which have increased because of more health emergencies at state prisons. In 2025, there were 76 deaths at state prisons — a significant increase — in addition to surges in overdoses.

Union leaders said changes made by the Legislature carry some of the blame.

In 2023, lawmakers passed a bill requiring correctional officers to provide offenders with the original, physical copies of mail they receive. However, the union members said this has made it easier for drugs laced in ink to enter prisons. Other states require physical mail to be scanned before being sent to prisoners.

Additionally, lawmakers unanimously approved a bill last year ( AB596 ) with fewer raises than what was the final result of collective bargaining talks. The state faced a budget crunch last year, and Gov. Joe Lombardo said it could not afford to pay all elements of certain state worker collective bargaining agreements.

Jason Stinehour, a union sergeant at arms who works at High Desert State Prison, also accused the agency of cutting or stopping overtime payouts following “word from the governor’s office,” which limits staff’s ability to monitor high-risk prisoners.

He recalled when Lombardo, as Clark County sheriff, said overtime was necessary to keep everyone safe.

“Does he not care about our safety now, since he’s governor?” Stinehour asked.

Lombardo’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Health insurance premiums for officers enrolled in the state insurance system are also likely to increase starting in July, which officers said could strain resources even more. Correctional facilities have long struggled to compete with local law enforcement agencies and their benefits.

“Rural area prisons with limited populations will be even further decimated than they are right now” Lunkwitz said. “I truly hope we can correct these issues before tragedy strikes.”

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1. Joe Lombardo - $2,174

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This story was originally published by The Nevada Independent and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.