Lawmakers questioned $70 million in pay raises that state agencies are giving employees next year. Members of the House Appropriations Committee say too many employees are getting salary bumps without a comprehensive review of their performance.
Government employment rules allow agencies to give their workers a “merit pay” increase each year based on their annual evaluations. But the salary boost can’t be less than 4%, and the raises are largely automatic and viewed as a way to give employees a cost-of-living adjustment.
Rep. John Schroder, a Republican from Covington, cited figures that show, on average, 96% of state government employees get the raises. He says he doesn’t believe that all those workers are performing at a level to deserve a “merit” increase.
