State Employee Compensation Philosophy

TITLE 67 STATE GOVERNMENT AND STATE AFFAIRS CHAPTER 53 PERSONNEL SYSTEM 67-5309A. State employee compensation philosophy. (1) It is hereby declared to be the intent of the legislature of the state of Idaho that the goal of a total compensation system for state employees shall be to fund a competitive employee compensation and benefit package that will attract qualified applicants to the work force; retain employees who have a commitment to public service excellence; motivate employees to maintain high standards of productivity; and reward employees for outstanding performance. (2)  The foundation for this philosophy recognizes that state government is a service enterprise in which the state work force provides the most critical role for Idaho citizens. Maintaining a competitive compensation system is an integral, necessary and expected cost of providing the delivery of state services and is based on the following compensation standards: (a)  The state’s overall compensation system, which includes both a salary and a benefit component, when taken as a whole shall be competitive with relevant labor market averages. (b)  Advancement in pay shall be based on job performance and market changes. (c)  Pay for performance shall provide faster salary advancement for higher performers based on a merit increase matrix developed by the division of human resources. (d)  All employees below the state’s midpoint market average in a salary range who are meeting expectations in the performance of their jobs shall move through the pay range toward the midpoint market average. (3)  It is hereby declared to be legislative intent that regardless of specific budgetary conditions from year to year, it is vital to fund necessary compensation adjustments each year to maintain market competitiveness in the compensation system. In order to provide this funding commitment in difficult fiscal conditions, it may be necessary to increase revenues, or to prioritize and eliminate certain functions or programs in state government, or to reduce the overall number of state employees in a given year, or any combination of such methods.