The House State Government Subcommittee today was scheduled to discuss HB647, the bill that would eliminate Longevity Pay for the majority of state employees, however that discussion was postponed.
Rep. Bill Sanderson, Chairman of the Subcommittee, rolled the bill two weeks at the request of the Haslam administration.
TSEA’s Board of Directors on Saturday voted to oppose this legislation.
What does the bill do?
SB606/HB647 – The Compensation Enhancement Act
If adopted, this bill would eliminate Longevity Pay for Executive Branch employees as of June 30, 2015. Employees would receive a one-time, permanent increase in their base salary equal to half of their longevity payment due, effective July 1, 2015 – after that, Longevity Pay would cease to exist.
Beginning in January, a Pay-For-Performance (or Merit Pay) system would be implemented. All employees evaluated as “Valued” would receive a 2% pay increase; employees evaluated as “Advanced” would receive 3%, and those evaluated as “Outstanding” would receive 4% for FY2016.
Unlike Longevity Pay, future performance-based salary increases will not be statutorily guaranteed, but subject to available funding each fiscal year.
Longevity Pay is the only statutorily-guaranteed salary increase for state employees. Once it is gone, it’s gone.
What can we do?
Unless your Legislator has indicated he/she supports our position, continue to contact YOUR legislators and tell them you oppose this bill. Let them know, in your own words, how important Longevity Pay is to you and your family.
CLICK HERE TO FIND YOUR LEGISLATOR
IMPORTANT – ONLY CALL YOUR LEGISLATORS. And when you call, tell them your home address so they can verify you are their constituent.
PLEASE DO NOT CALL LEGISLATORS IN OTHER DISTRICTS.Calling Legislators from other districts could be counter-productive to our efforts, as legislators begin to assume all calls are from outside their districts and they stop listening to our concerns.
TSEA will continue to keep you updated and informed as more information is made available.