67-19-12 - State pay plans -- Applicability of section -- Exemptions -- Duties of the executive director.
67-19-12. State pay plans -- Applicability of section -- Exemptions -- Duties of theexecutive director.
(1) (a) This section, and the rules adopted by the department to implement this section,apply to each career and noncareer employee not specifically exempted under Subsection (2).
(b) If not exempted under Subsection (2), an employee is considered to be in classifiedservice.
(2) The following employees are exempt from this section:
(a) members of the Legislature and legislative employees;
(b) members of the judiciary and judicial employees;
(c) elected members of the executive branch and employees under schedule AC asprovided under Subsection 67-19-15(1)(c);
(d) employees of the State Board of Education who are licensed by the State Board ofEducation;
(e) officers, faculty, and other employees of state institutions of higher education;
(f) employees in a position that is specified by statute to be exempt from this Subsection(2);
(g) employees in the Office of the Attorney General;
(h) department heads and other persons appointed by the governor under statute;
(i) exempt employees as provided under Subsection 67-19-15(1)(l);
(j) employees of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind who are:
(i) educators as defined by Section 53A-25b-102; or
(ii) educational interpreters as classified by the department; and
(k) temporary employees under schedule IN or TL as provided under Subsections67-19-15(1)(o) and (p).
(3) (a) The executive director shall prepare, maintain, and revise a position classificationplan for each employee position not exempted under Subsection (2) to provide equal pay forequal work.
(b) Classification of positions shall be based upon similarity of duties performed andresponsibilities assumed, so that the same job requirements and the same salary range may beapplied equitably to each position in the same class.
(c) The executive director shall allocate or reallocate the position of each employee inclassified service to one of the classes in the classification plan.
(d) (i) The department shall conduct periodic studies and desk audits to provide that theclassification plan remains reasonably current and reflects the duties and responsibilities assignedto and performed by employees.
(ii) The executive director shall determine the schedule for studies and desk audits afterconsidering factors such as changes in duties and responsibilities of positions or agencyreorganizations.
(4) (a) With the approval of the governor, the executive director shall develop and adoptpay plans for each position in classified service.
(b) The executive director shall design each pay plan to achieve, to the degree that fundspermit, comparability of state salary ranges to salary ranges used by private enterprise and otherpublic employment for similar work.
(c) The executive director shall adhere to the following in developing each pay plan:
(i) Each pay plan shall consist of sufficient salary ranges to permit adequate salary
differential among the various classes of positions in the classification plan.
(ii) (A) The executive director shall assign each class of positions in the classificationplan to a salary range and shall set the width of the salary range to reflect the normal growth andproductivity potential of employees in that class.
(B) The width of the ranges need not be uniform for all classes of positions in the plan.
(iii) (A) The executive director shall issue rules for the administration of pay plans.
(B) The rules may provide for exceptional performance increases and for a program ofincentive awards for cost-saving suggestions and other commendable acts of employees.
(C) The executive director shall issue rules providing for salary adjustments.
(iv) Merit increases shall be granted, on a uniform and consistent basis in accordancewith appropriations made by the Legislature, to employees who receive a rating of "successful"or higher in an annual evaluation of their productivity and performance.
(v) By October 31 of each year, the executive director shall submit market comparabilityadjustments to the director of the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget for consideration tobe included as part of the affected agency's base budgets.
(vi) By October 31 of each year, the executive director shall recommend a compensationpackage to the governor.
(vii) (A) Adjustments shall incorporate the results of a total compensation market surveyof salary ranges and benefits of a reasonable cross section of comparable benchmark positions inprivate and public employment in the state.
(B) The survey may also study comparable unusual positions requiring recruitment inother states.
(C) The executive director may cooperate with other public and private employers inconducting the survey.
(viii) (A) The executive director shall establish criteria to assure the adequacy andaccuracy of the survey and shall use methods and techniques similar to and consistent with thoseused in private sector surveys.
(B) Except as provided under Sections 67-19-12.1 and 67-19-12.3, the survey shallinclude a reasonable cross section of employers.
(C) The executive director may cooperate with or participate in any survey conducted byother public and private employers.
(D) The executive director shall obtain information for the purpose of constructing thesurvey from the Division of Workforce Information and Payment Services and shall includeemployer name, number of persons employed by the employer, employer contact information andjob titles, county code, and salary if available.
(E) The department shall acquire and protect the needed records in compliance with theprovisions of Section 35A-4-312.
(ix) The establishing of a salary range is a nondelegable activity and is not appealableunder the grievance procedures of Sections 67-19-30 through 67-19-32, Chapter 19a, GrievanceProcedures, or otherwise.
(x) The governor shall:
(A) consider salary adjustments recommended under Subsection (4)(c)(vi) in preparingthe executive budget and shall recommend the method of distributing the adjustments;
(B) submit compensation recommendations to the Legislature; and
(C) support the recommendation with schedules indicating the cost to individual
departments and the source of funds.
(xi) If funding is approved by the Legislature in a general appropriations act, theadjustments take effect on the July 1 following the enactment.
(5) (a) The executive director shall regularly evaluate the total compensation program ofstate employees in the classified service.
(b) The department shall determine if employee benefits are comparable to those offeredby other private and public employers using information from:
(i) the most recent edition of the Employee Benefits Survey Data conducted by the U.S.Chamber of Commerce Research Center; or
(ii) the most recent edition of a nationally recognized benefits survey.
(6) (a) The executive director shall submit proposals for a state employee compensationplan to the governor by October 31 of each year, setting forth findings and recommendationsaffecting employee compensation.
(b) The governor shall consider the executive director's proposals in preparing budgetrecommendations for the Legislature.
(c) The governor's budget proposals to the Legislature shall include a specificrecommendation on employee compensation.
Amended by Chapter 249, 2010 General Session