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Since 1972, advocating for the rights and value of South Dakota state employees.

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Category: Salary

Working for you

Friday, April 19, 2013

Took a couple calls and Facebook messages this Wednesday. One retiree called about issues related mostly to current state government employees. I was taken by how much this person still cares about what current state employees must endure: 1) A human resources system that many employees feel does not work for or care about them. 2) The absence of an official, impartial, legislatively sanctioned body that can independently evaluate and recommend disciplinary and grievance procedures from the front of an issue to its back. 3) The perception that the deck is stacked against the average state employee.

I spent quite a bit of time on the phone with the retiree, maybe 45-50 minutes, with most of my time spent listening (while I also researched some of the issues). The retiree asked what could be done about the various things mentioned. I gave the following advice, and it's the same advice I have for all SDSEO members: 1) Contact the SDSEO about the issue(s), so that we may begin to do research and formulate a plan to explore or deal with the issue. Most often, if you have an issue or question related to your employment as a South Dakota public servant, I can have your answer(s) and your solution(s) within moments. 2) The first step determines the second. If you contact the SDSEO first, you'll have a better second step.

I also spent quite a bit of time that day Facebook messaging an SDSEO member about issues related to the ACES evaluation system, specifically as it relates to compensation when the new fiscal year begins on July 1. Over several hours, I made phone calls, checked state websites for relevant info, messaged PDFs and webpage links, and really gave the issue a good going over. By the end of the day, the member thanked me for my work and time and stated that I'd for sure earned that person's $5 in dues for the pay period. I was happy and thankful, but it got me to thinking. Was I working for that member's $5 in dues alone, or was I working on behalf of all SDSEO members and their dues that day? I like to think that I was working for everybody, but on a one-on-one basis. The knowledge and information I gained from helping that member goes into my bag of tricks, and it's a bag that gets opened at the will of an SDSEO member. Have you recruited a new member or joined?
Categories: Benefits, Bureau of Human Resources, Grievance, Member, Movement to Job Worth, Retirees, Salary, Termination

Super-Snow Half-Day Pay

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Thankfully, with a winter storm for the ages hammering practically the entire state, South Dakota saw fit to close offices at noon yesterday. But what does it mean as far as compensation is concerned? How will the pay and service be figured?

On the Bureau of Human Resources side, non-salaried employees who could not report to work before noon and reported in about it will not actually have to use their leave: their leave request, up to four hours, for the after-noon work, will be swapped with administrative leave. The leave requests could have been made under any of the categories of leave, from personal to annual to sick. However, salaried employees who called in will have to use their leave, and eight hours of it. Note that this applies to most employees at most departments and agencies; there are some variations, depending on position and employer. If for some reason an employee was scheduled in advance to have yesterday or part of yesterday off, such as for vacation or an appointment, that employee will have to use their leave as they had requested. There are also many potential variations in how offices were actually operating early Tuesday, with some perhaps never even opening, so I suppose BHR will be pretty busy dealing with all of that.

For employees at Board of Regents institutions, it will be pretty much left to the individual institutions. I'd expect them to follow the Bureau of Human Resources policies and procedures, though.
Categories: Board of Regents, Bureau of Human Resources, Member, Salary

Successful Session Sees Salary Increases

Monday, March 25, 2013

Today is Veto Day and is the last day of the 2013 Legislative Session. With no vetoed bills affecting state government employees, it's safe to say the 2013 Legislative Session was successful for state government employees and for the SDSEO. We gained $47 million in funding for the next fiscal year, putting the total expenditure for salary and benefits at nearly $950 million. Complete info on the General Appropriations Act for FY 2014 is here.

Salary increases will come July 1 in the form of a 3% across-the-board increase, movement to job worth from 0% to 3.5%, career banding from 0% to 3.5% (engineers, environmental scientists, IT software engineering, and IT technical engineering) and from 0% to 4% (accountants/auditors, nursing). Longevity pay is essentially continually funded, so is not addressed specifically.
Categories: Benefits, Legislative, Salary

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