Legislator says there are deadbeats on state payroll regarding merit pay raises

Too many state workers are getting salary bumps without a comprehensive review of their performance according to some state lawmakers.

Government agencies can give their workers a "merit pay" increase each year based on their annual evaluations. Under civil service rules, the salary boost can't be less than 4 percent for "classified" state employees — nearly 63,000 workers who aren't political appointees.

Rep. John Schroder (R) Covington, cited figures that show, on average, 96 percent of state government employees get the raises. He said he doesn't believe that all those workers are performing at a level to deserve a "merit" increase. "You can't tell me we don't have some deadbeats on the payroll," he said later.

Commissioner of Administration Angele Davis, the governor's top budget adviser, said the system needs revision.

"I'm frustrated about it too, because an employee that 'meets expectations' in my opinion should not get the same raise as an employee that 'exceeds expectations,'" she said.