Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock (left), speaks at the Arkansas Legislative Council’s Uniform Personnel Classification and Compensation Review subcommittee meeting on June 14, 2023. (Screenshot courtesy of the Arkansas Legislature)
Arkansas lawmakers approved merit-based pay raises on Friday for roughly 1,400 state employees who will now receive more than the maximum salary allowed for their pay grades.
The Arkansas Legislative Council on Friday approved its Uniform Personnel Classification and Compensation Review subcommittee’s Wednesday decision with no debate and no audible dissent.
Wednesday’s vote also had no audible dissent but came after much discussion.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced earlier this week that her administration would give raises to 5,716 employees based on positive performance evaluations. The Legislative Council was required to approve only the 1,400 raises that crossed pay grade limits.
Several legislators said on Wednesday that they have received a great deal of emails from their constituents about the proposed raises, even though the changes started in the executive branch.
“They don’t understand that this is an executive decision, but they’re looking to the people that they elected to give some relief, and I know in this economy, people are hurting,” Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock, said.
She added that some of the employees getting raises already make more than six figures while some make roughly $30,000.
To receive merit-based pay raises, employees must have had their jobs for at least a year and received ratings of four or five on their annual performance reviews, which are scored out of five.
Under the administration of Sanders’ predecessor, Gov. Asa Hutchinson, each state office had to adhere to a “bell curve” of ratings between one and five, meaning supervisors were only allowed to award certain numbers of four and five ratings.
Sanders’ administration eliminated the bell curve but did not notify state offices of this until late May, said Kay Barnhill, director of the state Office of Personnel Management.
As a result, some employees who received a three on their performance evaluations might have deserved higher ratings and therefore qualified for raises, said Sen. Kim Hammer, R-Benton, and subcommittee co-chair Rep. Mark Berry, R-Ozark.
“The governor’s been handed a bad deal and the state employees are the recipients of that,” Hammer said.
Barnhill said the state has a list of standards for supervisors to use when evaluating employees’ performances, and departments can pick and choose which standards to use.
Chesterfield said she found this concerning and thought state employees should be evaluated the same way “across the board.”
She also said she worried unequal standards for evaluation and pay would lead some state employees to leave their jobs.
“This state can ill afford to lose large numbers of its employees, because there are understaffed agencies right now,” Chesterfield said.
The Arkansas Times reported Thursday that Sanders’ administration did not allow state employees to speak to members of the media about the proposed pay raises.
In January , shortly after Sanders took office, the personnel subcommittee of the Joint Budget Committee approved pay raises and accepted new salary ranges for several members of the governor’s cabinet and staff.
