Superseded 7/1/2023)
Superseded 7/1/2023
63A-17-307. State pay plans — Applicability of section — Exemptions — Duties of director.
| (1) |
Terms Used In Utah Code 63A-17-307- Agency: means any department or unit of Utah state government with authority to employ personnel. See Utah Code 63A-17-102
- Classified service: means those positions subject to the classification and compensation provisions of Section 63A-17-307. See Utah Code 63A-17-102
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Director: means the director of the division. See Utah Code 63A-17-102
- Division: means the Division of Human Resource Management, created in Section 63A-17-105. See Utah Code 63A-17-102
- Employee: means any individual in a paid status covered by the career service or classified service provisions of this chapter. See Utah Code 63A-17-102
- Executive director: means the executive director of the Department of Government Operations. See Utah Code 63A-1-103
- Market comparability adjustment: means a salary range adjustment determined necessary through a market survey of salary data and other relevant information. See Utah Code 63A-17-102
- National Credit Union Administration: The federal regulatory agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions. (NCUA also administers the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, which insures the deposits of federal credit unions.) Source: OCC
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
- Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
- Total compensation: means salaries and wages, bonuses, paid leave, group insurance plans, retirement, and all other benefits offered to state employees as inducements to work for the state. See Utah Code 63A-17-102
| (a) |
This section, and the rules made by the division under 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 classified service. |
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| (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 designated as schedule AC as provided under Subsection 63A-17-301(1)(c); |
| (d) |
employees of the State Board of Education; |
| (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; |
| (j) |
department deputy directors, division directors, and other employees designated as schedule AD as provided under Subsection 63A-17-301(1)(d); |
| (k) |
employees that determine and execute policy designated as schedule AR as provided under Subsection 63A-17-301(1)(l); |
| (l) |
teaching staff, educational interpreters, and educators designated as schedule AH as provided under Subsection 63A-17-301(1)(g); |
| (m) |
temporary employees described in Subsection 63A-17-301(1)(r); |
| (n) |
patients and inmates designated as schedule AU as provided under Subsection 63A-17-301(1)(o) who are employed by state institutions; and |
| (o) |
members of state and local boards and councils and other employees designated as schedule AQ as provided under Subsection 63A-17-301(1)(k). |
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| (3) |
| (a) |
The director shall prepare, maintain, and revise a position classification plan for each employee position not exempted under Subsection (2) to provide equal pay for equal work. |
| (b) |
Classification of positions shall be based upon similarity of duties performed and responsibilities assumed, so that the same job requirements and the same salary range, subject to Section 63A-17-112, may be applied equitably to each position in the same class. |
| (c) |
The director shall allocate or reallocate the position of each employee in classified service to one of the classes in the classification plan. |
| (d) |
| (i) |
The division shall conduct periodic studies and interviews to provide that the classification plan remains reasonably current and reflects the duties and responsibilities assigned to and performed by employees. |
| (ii) |
The director shall determine the need for studies and interviews after considering factors such as changes in duties and responsibilities of positions or agency reorganizations. |
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| (4) |
| (a) |
With the approval of the executive director and the governor, the director shall develop and adopt pay plans for each position in classified service. |
| (b) |
The director shall design each pay plan to achieve, to the degree that funds permit, comparability of state salary ranges to the market using data obtained from private enterprise and other public employment for similar work. |
| (c) |
The director shall adhere to the following in developing each pay plan:
| (i) |
each pay plan shall consist of sufficient salary ranges to:
| (A) |
permit adequate salary differential among the various classes of positions in the classification plan; and |
| (B) |
reflect the normal growth and productivity potential of employees in that class. |
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| (ii) |
The director shall issue rules for the administration of pay plans. |
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| (e) |
The director shall make rules, accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, providing for:
| (i) |
agency approved salary adjustments within approved salary ranges, including an administrative salary adjustment; and |
| (ii) |
structure adjustments that modify salary ranges, including a cost of living adjustment or market comparability adjustment. |
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| (5) |
| (a) |
On or before October 31 of each year, the director shall submit an annual compensation plan to the executive director and the governor for consideration in the executive budget. |
| (b) |
The plan described in Subsection (5)(a) may include recommendations, including:
| (i) |
salary increases that generally affect employees, including a general increase or merit increase; |
| (ii) |
salary increases that address compensation issues unique to an agency or occupation; |
| (iii) |
structure adjustments, including a cost of living adjustment or market comparability adjustment; or |
| (iv) |
changes to employee benefits. |
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| (c) |
| (i) |
| (A) |
Subject to Subsection (5)(c)(i)(B) or (C), the director shall incorporate the results of a salary survey of a reasonable cross section of comparable positions in private and public employment in the state into the annual compensation plan. |
| (B) |
The salary survey for a law enforcement officer, as defined in Section 53-13-103, a correctional officer, as defined in Section 53-13-104, or a dispatcher, as defined in Section 53-6-102, shall at minimum include the three largest political subdivisions in the state that employ, respectively, comparable positions. |
| (C) |
The salary survey for an examiner or supervisor described in 2, shall at minimum include the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Federal Reserve, and National Credit Union Administration. |
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| (ii) |
The director may cooperate with or participate in any survey conducted by other public and private employers. |
| (iii) |
The director shall obtain information for the purpose of constructing the survey from the Division of Workforce Information and Payment Services and shall include employer name, number of persons employed by the employer, employer contact information and job titles, county code, and salary if available. |
| (iv) |
The division shall acquire and protect the needed records in compliance with the provisions of Section 35A-4-312. |
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| (d) |
The director may incorporate any other relevant information in the plan described in Subsection (5)(a), including information on staff turnover, recruitment data, or external market trends. |
| (e) |
The director shall:
| (i) |
establish criteria to assure the adequacy and accuracy of data used to make recommendations described in this Subsection (5); and |
| (ii) |
when preparing recommendations use accepted methodologies and techniques similar to and consistent with those used in the private sector. |
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| (f) |
| (i) |
Upon request and subject to Subsection (5)(f)(ii), the division shall make available foundational information used by the division or director in the drafting of a plan described in Subsection (5)(a), including:
| (A) |
demographic and labor market information; |
| (B) |
information on employee turnover; |
| (D) |
information on recruitment; and |
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| (ii) |
The division may not provide under Subsection (5)(f)(i) information or other data that is proprietary or otherwise protected under the terms of a contract or by law. |
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| (g) |
The governor shall:
| (i) |
consider salary and structure adjustments recommended under Subsection (5)(b) in preparing the executive budget and shall recommend the method of distributing the adjustments; |
| (ii) |
submit compensation recommendations to the Legislature; and |
| (iii) |
support the recommendation with schedules indicating the cost to individual departments and the source of funds. |
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| (h) |
If funding is approved by the Legislature in a general appropriations act, the adjustments take effect on the July 1 following the enactment unless otherwise indicated. |
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| (6) |
| (a) |
The director shall make rules, in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, for the granting of incentive awards, including awards for cost saving actions, awards for commendable actions by an employee, or a market-based award to attract or retain employees. |
| (b) |
An agency may not grant a market-based award unless the award is previously approved by the division. |
| (c) |
In accordance with Subsection (6)(b), an agency requesting the division’s approval of a market-based award shall submit a request and documentation, subject to Subsection (6)(d), to the division. |
| (d) |
In the documentation required in Subsection (6)(c), the requesting agency shall identify for the division:
| (i) |
any benefit the market-based award would provide for the agency, including:
| (A) |
budgetary advantages; or |
| (B) |
recruitment advantages; |
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| (ii) |
a mission critical need to attract or retain unique or hard to find skills in the market; or |
| (iii) |
any other advantage the agency would gain through the utilization of a market-based award. |
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| (7) |
| (a) |
The director shall regularly evaluate the total compensation program of state employees in the classified service. |
| (b) |
The division shall determine if employee benefits are comparable to those offered by other private and public employers using information from:
| (i) |
a study conducted by a third-party consultant; or |
| (ii) |
the most recent edition of a nationally recognized benefits survey. |
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Amended by Chapter 169, 2022 General Session
Amended by Chapter 209, 2022 General Session
