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Effective July 1, 2011, Senate Substitute Bill 5860 extends through June 30, 2013, the restrictions on salary increases that have been in place since February 18, 2009. These salary increase restrictions apply to all monthly and hourly-paid professional staff appointments, to all hourly-paid temporary appointments using a classified job title, the temporary staff helper title, and to hourly-paid temporary student employees. This page describes when salary increases may be approved and the process for requesting approval for salary increase exceptions.
The UW will continue to consider requests for compensation increases that accompany the following transactions:
In addition to the above transactions for which pay increases may be approved, the University may authorize retention-based salary increases for employees when we have or can reasonably anticipate difficulty retaining such employees. For professional staff, the increases are normally made as ingrade adjustments. Critical retention-based salary increases require the approval of the appropriate chancellor, dean, vice president, or vice provost (etc.), and the HR Compensation Office. Follow the procedure steps outlined under ACT.
The UW must report all critical retention increases for academic and non-academic, exempt employees to the fiscal committees of the Legislature by July 31, 2012, and July 31, 2013. UWHR and Planning and Budgeting will be responsible for compiling and submitting the reports.
There are no legislative restrictions on the funding sources that can be used for retention-based salary increases. All increases must be funded within existing resources and must not adversely impact the provision of client services.
In-grade salary increases for professional staff resulting from job growth or higher level of functioning that are not sufficient to result in a grade change are not allowed under the legislation, except as described above for critical retention-based reasons.
Follow normal processes for the following transactions for professional staff. No special procedures are required.
For position reviews that may result in a change in salary grade, complete the Professional Staff Compensation Change Request Form.
The retention-based salary increase exemption request process and form are designed for individual positions. If you contemplate requesting retention-based salary increases for a group of employees having the same or closely related payroll titles, or for multiple employees in a work group, you will be asked to provide information to support the request consistent with the legislative requirement that "…increases may be granted for positions for which the employer has demonstrated difficulty retaining qualified employees." The University's expectation is that the circumstances that might justify salary increases for an entire group of employees will be rare. For information and advice specific to your situation, please contact the UW Compensation Office.
The HR Compensation Office will review salary increase requests in accordance with legislative requirements. Upon approval of a request, the HR Compensation Office will email approval confirmation to individuals listed in "Section G – Approvals of the Professional Staff" of the Compensation Change Request Form.
See the Pay Increase Restrictions Q&A for answers to common questions about restrictions on wage or salary increases.
Salary Increase Restriction Topics