Compensation:

August 2005 issue

Compensation -- Now that the salary information (individual compensation histories, salary structures) is readily available on the web, I "discovered" my salary grade and was shocked to find -- that although I have been at this grade level since 2000 -- I don't even make the MINIMUM for the grade. I was told that when the new salary structures are implemented, the budget fails to take into account the salaries for people already in particular grades. However, if someone new is hired at this grade, s/he would make at least the minimum (although people are typically hired at more than the minimum). This makes no sense to me whatsoever. As such, staff have been hired in my department making more money than I do -- same job title, less experience, less tenure/seniority, but hired under a different salary structure. I don't understand. Maybe you can clarify this for me and/or tell me what, if anything, I can do about it.

Response

The University is aware of the compensation situation that you have described. While "compression" is not unique to this institution, the University has formed a committee of staff and faculty representatives to research and to recommend resolution to a variety of salary situations; compression being one of the issues under evaluation. The diversity of the university structure, i.e., job titles, classifications, role descriptions, etc. have created a significant level of complexity for the committee to work through. However, the committee is working as expeditiously as possible and hopes to complete some of the preliminary work shortly.