RD409 - Annual Report on the Salaries Paid to Employees of the Commonwealth


Executive Summary:
The 2000 Re-convened Session of the General Assembly approved Chapter 1073 (the Appropriation Act) on May 19, 2000. Chapter 1073 contains language in Section 4-7.02, Classified Compensation Plan stating that:

"Effective July 1, 2000, the compensation plan for classified employees in the executive branch shall be revised consistent with the recommendations contained in the report of the Commission on Reform of the Classified Compensation Plan. The Governor may phase in the reforms in such a manner as to provide for an orderly transition to the new system."

The report of the Commission on Reform of the Classified Compensation Plan included Recommendation 5, the development of a new salary survey methodology. The report stated that: "[t]he new pay structure, including the assignment of roles to pay bands, will be reviewed and validated using new salary surveys during 2000-2001." Recommendation 5 is included in its entirety on pages 6 and 7 of this report.

A web-based source of salary survey data is currently available for agencies to use in daily compensation management activities such as starting pay, promotional, or in-band adjustment decisions. This tool also supports the validation of role assignments to pay bands.

The report also states that "[a]nnually, (DHRM) will provide the General Assembly and the Governor with data indicating projected market movement of the entire pay structure." This report has been prepared in response to this statutory requirement.

Prior to 2000, an annual survey was conducted in accordance with Section 2.1-114.6 of the Code of Virginia. It required the Director of Human Resource Management to conduct an annual review of salaries paid to employees of the Commonwealth. Such Surveys were conducted in each of the 25 years beginning in 1975 and ending in 1999. The eleven most recent of those surveys were conducted using a methodology developed by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC).

JLARC completed a comprehensive, two-year study of the Commonwealth’s total compensation program, including salaries and benefits, in October 2008. This study included an evaluation of the competitiveness of the Commonwealth’s programs, an analysis of trends, and recommendations for appropriate changes. The Department of Human Resource Management provided assistance to JLARC in the review as well as comments on the findings.