Chapter 3 – Personnel, Training, and Employee Relations

31130.6.4 Determining the Amount of Adjustment

• Established Rate

  • Once the hiring authority determines that a special hiring rate is necessary to attract an outstanding individual, the hiring authority shall decide which hiring rate to request.

  • In order to be competitive with other employers, yet offer no more than is necessary, the actual rate granted is an established rate between the minimum and maximum for the class nearest (above or below) to the individual’s present salary or other valid job offers. This is any established rate between the existing steps for the class if it will more closely approximate a realistic appraisal of the individual’s background and salary history.

• Limitations

  • Special hiring rates are usually limited to two steps above the minimum of the salary range, i.e., the third salary step. When the position has limited promotional opportunity, use of hiring rates above that rate limits the Department’s ability to use merit salary adjustments to recognize employee growth and encourage initiative.

  • Adjustments above the third step shall be processed only when the factors of extraordinary qualifications, present salary, or prospective job offers make a strong case for the particular individual.

• Determining the Above-Minimum Rate

  • The individual’s monthly salary (or highest bona fide job offer) is compared to the State’s pay ranges in determining the maximum amount to authorize. Money earned through part-time employment is counted in determining the above-minimum rate only when the individual would lose this income by coming to work for the Department.

  • When an individual’s total income covers periods substantially less than twelve months and that individual does not work for the remainder of the year, the income is considered as the function of the number of months worked; e.g., $10,000 per year for a ten month work year is considered as $1,000 per month. When there is additional income from a second job from which the individual must resign, that should be added to the total and the full year considered.

• Consideration of Other Offers

  • Other competitive salary offers from State agencies shall not be used as justification for exceeding these other offers for above minimum rates. When the provisions outlined here are applied correctly, above minimum rates authorized for outstanding qualifications for a given individual shall be identical for all State agencies using the class.

• Moving Expense

  • The salary shall not include a bonus to the candidate to come to the State; however, when relocation involves an unusual moving expense, an above minimum rate may be justified where use of the candidate’s qualifications is particularly critical to the Department’s program. Advance approval by DPADepartment of Personnel Administration (see CalHR) is required in these cases.

• Applicable Authorizations

  • Under delegation, an individual ordinarily cannot receive above minimum steps under more than one special salary authorization. Regarding entrance into college recruitment classes, it may be found that an individual possesses superior scholastic achievement. Also, there may be a general hiring “plus” rate authorized on the basis of recruitment difficulty. The Department decides which of the applicable authorizations is needed to acquire the individual.

• Required Explanation

  • If the rate approved for the individual does not fall at one of the normal steps within the salary range for that class, the hiring authority shall provide the appointee with an explanation of the possible effect on movement through the salary range under DPADepartment of Personnel Administration (see CalHR) rules.

• Corrective Salary Action

  • Special adjustments for outstanding qualifications are not a substitute for corrective salary action for a class. If there are a number of vacancies in a given class and recruitment is difficult, recruitment “plus” differential or special corrective salary action for the class may be necessary.