Thousands of Louisiana state employees will see boosted paychecks under a reworked pay scale approved by Gov. John Bel Edwards, The Associated Press reports.
The raises carry a $48 million annual price tag but aims to reduce the millions lost to high turnover in critical, front-line jobs. Louisiana’s Department of Civil Service, which pushed the pay scale redesign, announced Thursday that Edwards had signed off on the plan. Financing for it was included in the state operating budget that begins Saturday.
Edwards says state worker pay hikes have too often been “inconsistent and unfair” in recent, tight budget years, with some agencies suspending the annual increases given to workers who meet performance standards and others continuing to grant them.
“State employees, including our law enforcement and child welfare workers who have been overworked and underpaid for too long, will see a modest increase under this plan,” Edwards says in a statement. “Overall, this will result in a more efficient pay system that saves Louisiana money.”
Byron Decoteau, Louisiana’s civil service director, says high turnover rates cost agencies millions in lost productivity. The turnover rate in state government was 17% last year, according to civil service data estimating that carried an annual cost of $114 million for the state. Particularly hard-hit are the corrections, juvenile justice and child welfare agencies, which are having trouble hanging onto front-line workers because of low pay for jobs with hazardous conditions.
The newly redesigned pay scales take effect Jan. 1, when 38,000 rank-and-file state employees will receive an across-the-board, 2% pay hike.
