Published: May 10, 2013

On Monday, April 29, 2013 the Governor signed Senate Bill 13-230, commonly referred to as the FY 2013-2014 budget bill, or Long Bill. According to this bill,  classified employees are eligible for a 2% cost of living increase (COLA), a performance based merit increase (based on a 1.6% pool), and an additional increase if an employee’s new salary (after the COLA and merit increases are applied) falls below the new minimum salary for their job class.

All classified employees who are employed by the University prior to July 1, 2013 will receive the COLA increase, regardless of performance rating. For the first time, there is a matrix for merit pay that is dependent on an employee’s performance rating and salary within the FY 2012-2013 compensation plan.

Increases for classified employees will be implemented as follows:

  1. Any temporary pay differential is removed from base salary.
  2. A cost of living adjustment (COLA) of 2% is applied as a base-building increase. If the employee’s salary is at the range maximum, the cost of living increase will be a non-base-building, one-time payment. If the total COLA increase would cause the employee’s salary to be over the range maximum, a base building increase will be applied up to the maximum and any amount over the range maximum will be a non-base building, one-time payment.
  3. Merit increases for employees hired before April 1, 2013, are determined by the matrix pictured above.
  1. After COLA and merit increases are calculated, the employee’s new adjusted salary will be placed into the new FY 2013-2014 compensation plan salary ranges. If the salary is below the new minimum, a base-building increase will be added to bring the employee’s salary to the minimum in the salary range. If the salary is above the new maximum, the employee’s pay will be in saved pay status for up to three years, which means the employee’s pay will remain the same for three years and then be reduced to the range maximum if the range maximums do not change before that time.
  2. Temporary pay differentials, if applicable, are calculated and monthly salary is adjusted accordingly using departmental funds.

Classified employees are encouraged to review the FAQs on the Human Resources website and/or contact Employment Services at 303-492-6475 with questions.