April 02, 2009
Raises for managers?
While Governor David Paterson is threatening union employees with layoffs if they don't agree to a pay freeze, he has not exercised his unilateral power to rescind scheduled raises for 10,700 management/confidential employees, costing the state $20 million a year.
As recently as last week, the Paterson administration issued a budget bulletin informing agencies of the scheduled 3 percent pay raises, performance advances, merit awards and longevity payments for nonunionized M/C employees. It reminds commissioners they have discretion to be selective in granting merit raises.
The bulletin, dated March 25, came one day after the governor threatened public employee unions with 8,900 job cuts if they refuse to forgo a scheduled 3 percent raise and agree to a one-week lag in their salaries. The unions have not budged. Their members will get their scheduled April 1 raises for now.
Paterson, however, does not need the consent of management/confidential employees to cancel their April 1 raises.
In fact, the budget bulletin notes that under state law, he can deny the raises "to reduce State expenditures to acceptable levels."
Paterson has frozen salaries for his immediate staff, but continues to send mixed signals with the M/C raises.
If the M/C raises are approved, they would not appear in pay checks until the April 23 and 29 payroll periods. That means Paterson has some time to cancel them before then.
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