State workers in Oregon will start receiving their 3.1% cost-of-living raises four months early and the state will pay 5% hiring and promotion bonuses, under agreements authorized by Gov. Kate Brown this week.
Under contracts negotiated by the governor last year, state workers were set to receive a 3.1% cost-of-living raise on Dec. 1 but they will now be paid the higher rates starting Aug. 1, under amendments the Brown administration signed this week. State workers also receive separate annual raises known as “step increases,” unless they have reached the top of their pay ranges.
Liz Merah, a spokesperson for the governor, said Brown agreed to the early raises in recognition of that inflation is causing steep price increases for workers and to address difficulties the some state agencies have faced filling vacant jobs.
“When the state finalized labor contracts last year, Oregon (and the country) was in a different economic environment,” Merah said in an email. “Like Americans across the country, Oregonians today are facing the impacts of inflation, including the state workforce … The governor agreed, after months of negotiation, to move previously contracted COLAs up several months to provide more immediate relief.”
Merah said that some state agencies “have faced vacancy rates upwards of 20% as hiring has been constrained across all sectors.”
Inflation has eaten into workers’ wage gains, although it varies by industry and some workers have still come out ahead so far including the education and healthcare sector, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.
Before inflation sent the cost of living speeding upwards, Oregon’s analysis of state worker compensation found that, as of July 1, 2020, the government paid employees highly competitive salaries and benefits compared with key areas of the Pacific Northwest market: 100.2% of market, thanks largely to benefits including pensions and heavily subsidized health insurance plans.
State workers received a 3% cost-of-living raise in the second half of 2020 and a 2.5% cost-of-living raise in December 2021, in addition to their annual “step increase” raises.
Additionally, the governor agreed in 2021 to deliver one-time “COVID hazard” payouts of $1,550 to all state employees who worked qualifying amounts of mandatory in-person hours in the first 16 months of the pandemic. On top of that, employees who worked at least 200 hours of overtime during the pandemic time frame received an additional $575.
Oregon’s administrative agency predicts the total price tag to move up the cost-of-living raises will be around $40 million, with $16 million of that from the state general fund and the balance from a combination of federal and other funds.
Merah, the spokesperson for Brown, noted that starting scheduled pay increases earlier would not affect future budgets, because it would increase pay rates. “This move does not require any new state funds — the (cost-of-living raises) are being funded through existing agency budgets — and future budgets will not be impacted by this decision,” Merah said.
— Hillary Borrud; hborrud@oregonian.com; @hborrud