BILL NUMBER: S2395

SPONSOR: JACKSON
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the civil service law, in relation to providing salary
and other benefits to  state employees designated managerial or confi-
dential

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this bill is to provide parity between salary increases
and longevity payments between management or confidential employees and
union-represented employees.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 adds a new Section 137 to Civil Service Law to provide that
state employees designated management/confidential (M/C) shall receive
the same percentage increases in salary as employees in the profes-
sional, scientific, and technical services bargaining unit, represented
by the NYS Public Employees Federation ("PEF"), starting July 1, 2023.
              

This section also provides that M/Cs at or below salary grade 17 shall
receive longevity lump sum payments equal to those received by employees
in the state's administrative services bargaining unit, represented by
the Civil Service Employee Association. M/Cs at or above salary grade 18
shall receive longevity lump sum payments equal to those received by PEF
members.

Section 2 is the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

State employees designated Managerial or Confidential ("M/C") under the
Taylor Law are unable to join unions for the purposes of collective
bargaining. M/C employees are therefore unrepresented by unions. As a
result, M/C employees have long been denied certain salary increases and
benefits offered to their union-represented coworkers even though they
often share the very same titles. In 2009 and 2010, union-represented
employees received 3% and 4% general salary increases, respectively,
while M/C employees had those general salary increases denied. This was
compounded by three consecutive years of zero increases. While the base
salary of M/C employees was increased incrementally beginning in 2014,
there was no repayment of forfeited past earnings. This caused the
permanent loss of earnings, the permanent loss of retirement pension
credit from forfeited earnings, the permanent loss of wages for Social
Security contributions, and, upon retirement, a reduction in the value
of sick leave used to fund health insurance premiums. M/C employees were
singled out again in 2020; while both M/C and union-represented employ-
ees had their general salary increases withheld due to the State's budg-
etary shortfall, only union-represented employees continued to receive
longevity payments and performance advances.

Beyond the financial damage and destruction of morale, other tangible
impacts of this disparate treatment include the loss of disaffected M/C
employees who transfer to union-represented positions or retire.  Hiring
for M/C positions has become difficult as M/C compensation is so uncom-

petitive that there is no financial incentive to take on greater respon-
sibility in M/C positions that offer little or no salary increase.

The proposed legislation would provide parity between M/Cs and their
union-represented workers in three critical areas. First, by providing
M/C employees with the same general salary increases provided to the
State's largest bargaining unit, the Professional, Scientific, and Tech-
nical Services Unit. Second, by establishing and matching longevity
payments made to those of comparable bargaining units: the Administra-
tive Services Unit for clerical and administrative M/C employees and the
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services Unit for M/C employees
in the professional ranks (it should be noted that only M/C employees
below salary grade 18 now receive longevity payments while their coun-
terparts in the unionized workforce receive longevity payments at all
salary grades). Third, by guaranteeing that the payment of performance
advances to M/C employees, like those paid to the unionized workforce,
is not withheld except due to documented unsatisfactory work perform-
ance.

State legislators must recognize the valuable contributions of M/C
employees and guarantee that they will be treated no worse than their
union-represented coworkers. New York State's budget deficit cannot be
balanced on the backs of 10,000 working men and women in the State's M/C
workforce through lesser salary and benefits.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S2021-2022: S.5727-A -Amend and Recommit to Civil Service and
Pensions/A.6532-A Amend and Recommit to Governmental Employees

 
STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.