Thursday, October 22, 2009

State workers, retirees oppose new pay raise policy

Current and retired state employees are opposing proposed changes in the state’s pay raise policies, arguing politics and favoritism will pervade the decision-making.

The comments are coming in by e-mail and regular mail as the state Civil Service Commission is considering a proposal that would eliminate 4 percent annual pay raises employees get when they meet expectations or better on their performance reviews.

Under the proposed system, employees rated by their supervisors as meeting or exceeding expectations, and even those found to do outstanding work, might not receive a pay raise.

“The system you are wanting to accept gives too much power to managers and does not really reward the people for doing a good job. It rewards nepotism, rewards next door neighbors, people going to the same church, in the same organizations, breeds blatant favoritism,” C.T. Miller wrote.

“Experience indicates that performance appraisals are typically based much more on the subjective notions and competence of the supervisor to honestly judge others than on objective facts,” wrote Jim Porter, a 30-year rating supervisor.

The commission is receiving public comment through Oct. 30. A public hearing is scheduled for Nov. 4, the same day as a potential vote on the proposal that would make a dramatic change in state employee compensation policies.

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