Most UC employees will receive additional salary increases thanks to a special $19 million appropriation approved by Gov. Gray Davis and the state Legislature.

Staff employees whose annual salary is $40,000 or less will receive a 2 percent salary increase across the board, in addition to the usual range and merit increases for the 2000-2001 fiscal year. Those who earn above $40,000 and below $80,000 a year will receive a 1 percent across-the-board salary increase.

"We are focusing this year on improving compensation for lower-paid staff employees," said Judith Boyette, UC associate vice president for human resources and benefits. "Providing competitive compensation for our employees—faculty, staff and management—will continue to be an important priority in the coming years because it has such a critical impact on the quality of our programs."

University employees who earn more than $80,000 per year will not be eligible for the special augmentation funding. Employees who are funded from contract and grant or self-supporting units are included in the special compensation program. However, departmental monies will fund their increases, as usual.

The increase will be calculated using employee salaries existing prior to the addition of the merit increases for fiscal year 2000-2001.

Salary increases for UC staff covered by collective bargaining agreements must be negotiated before they can be implemented. Bargaining with represented employee groups may result in a different distribution of the augmentation for represented employees.

Employees will receive their range and/or merit increases and the special increases effective Oct. 1. These increases should show up in the payroll check issued Nov. 1 for employees paid monthly and Nov. 8 for employees paid bi-weekly.

The governor and Legislature have previously approved an appropriation of funds equivalent to a 3.5 percent overall merit pool for university employees.

For faculty, meanwhile, this year’s state budget provides funding for the standard 2 percent range adjustment plus normal merit increases, along with a 1 percent parity adjustment to keep faculty pay competitive with that of comparable universities. UC undertook a major effort in the late 1990s to bring faculty pay up to market-competitive levels.