Last night’s snowstorm may not have lived up to the hype, but it has prompted one small but significant change in the way the state handles its emergency management.
The latest nor'easter was the fourth storm in three weeks in Connecticut. And the crazy March weather drove some changes in state terminology.
Governor Dannel Malloy signed an executive order Wednesday that would change how state employees are be referred to during severe weather or emergency events. What were previously called "essential" and "non-essential" employees will now be known as “Level One” and “Level Two.”
“Quite frankly, those designations were unfair and were demeaning to Level Two employees,” said Malloy, as he briefed the media from the Emergency Operations Center.
The designations are used to refer to those who still need to turn up for work during severe weather, and those who do not.
The governor got a pat on the back from unions for the change.
"We applaud the Governor for updating these antiquated terms to describe the state’s dedicated public service workers," said AFL-CIO president Lori Pelletier in a statement. “Our state employees are anything but 'nonessential.' Continuing to use this term to describe our state workers only serves to feed negative stereotypes and demean their important work."
To get everyone used to the change, Malloy said that he’ll probably use both terminologies for the rest of this year.
