The new merit pay system will apply to non-union state workers in Gov. Pete Rickett’s Cabinet agencies, he said recently. “About every private-sector company that’s successful finds ways to reward their highest performers,” Ricketts says. “We want to take that same tool and apply it to state government.”
Non-union employees at state agencies that are overseen by boards or commissions will have the option of adopting the pay scheme. Public employee union workers, who make up the majority of the state’s 17,500 workers, are not bound to the new system.
The union’s lead negotiator, Mike Steadman, expressed doubt on a merit-based system as it may allow managers to punish employees based on personality and not their performance. “Across-the-board increases allow working families the opportunity for a raise regardless of whether your supervisor likes you or not,” Steadman says. “It takes out the appearance of cronyism.”