CR 92-21 Approval Of Pay Equity Implementation
January 17, 1992
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Report #92-21
APPROVAL OF THE PAY EQUITY IMPLEMENTATION REPORT
Proposed Action.
staff recommends adoption of the following motion: Move that the
Hopkins City Council approve. and authorize the Mayor to sign. the
attached Pay Equity Implementation Report.
Adoption of this motion will allow the City to submit its Pay Equity
Implementation Report as required by state law.
Overview.
Each local government jurisdiction must submi t a Pay Equity
Implementation Report as provided by Minnesota statutes, section
471.9981. The report must be submitted to the department by January
31, 1992. The report must be based on the jurisdiction's payroll as
of December 31, 1991.
Attached is a copy of the report that the City must send to the
Department of Employee Relations (DOER).
Primary Issues to Consider.
o Has the city submitted reports to DOER in the past?
o What changes have been made by DOER in the program that
determines whether a jurisdiction is in compliance?
o What actions has the City taken in order to comply with the
comparable worth law?
o How much has the city of Hopkins spent in order to comply with
the law?
o What are the City's options' if the City is found to be out of
compliance with the law?
Supporting Information.
o Chronology of state and City actions
o 1990 "Scattergramll
o Graph of selected job classes
o Pay Equity Implementation Report
council Report #92-21
Page 2
Has the city submitted reports to DOER in the past?
This will be the fourth report that the city has submitted to DOER.
The city submitted the first report in 1988. That report indicated
that there were several female classes whose maximum salaries needed
to be adjusted.
The second report consisted of "scattergram" which was submitted to
DOER in the summer of 1990. (A copy is attached). A IIscattergram" is
produced by doing a regression analysis using comparable worth points
and maximum salaries. 'At that time DOER said that the city appeared
to be in compliance with the law.
The third report was a Pay Equity Preliminary Evaluation Form which
was sent to DOER in late November of 1991. On December 22 the city
received the results. The preliminary evaluation states that the city
is currently not in compliance. This decision is based upon the
Department of Employee Relations' new computer program. DOER has
indicated that this program is still being revised. It is not certain
that the city will be found out of compliance when it submits its
final report.
What changes have been made by DOER in the program that determines
whether a jurisdiction is in compliance?
Since 1990, when the city last sent in a "scattergram", DOER has made
the following changes:
o The new program uses "mini-regression" lines. Instead of a
single regression line that takes into account the maximum
salaries of all classes, the mlnl-regression line compares
females classes with the male classes which are immediately above
and below.
o The new program weights the line. The more individuals that are
ina class, the greater effect on the line.
o Health benefits must be added to the maximum salaries.
o Part-time and HRA employees must be included in the study.
What actions has the city taken in order to comply with the comparable
worth law?
Attached is a chronology of the actions that the City has taken to
comply with the law.
Significant increases in the pay of female classes were made from 1987
to 1990. In addition a two year contract with the public works
employees reduced the rate of their wage increases. The effect of
these actions can be seen in the attached graph entitled salary
Comparisons.
council Report #92-21
Page 3
In 1988 the city went to arbitration with the police officers in an
attempt to secure a contract which would reduce the gap between the
wages of the officers and the wages of female classes whose point
values were similar to those of the officers. The city lost this
arbitration.
How much has the city of Hopkins spent in order to comply with the
law?
since 1987 the city has spent between $200,000 and $300,000 in higher
salaries and other costs associated with complying with the law.
What are the city's options if the City is found to be out of
compliance with the law?
DOER will be processing the Pay Equity Implementation Reports for over
1,600 local governments during 1992. The city should receive its
results sometime this summer. If the city is found to be in
compliance no further steps will be necessary at this time. If the
ci ty is found to be out of compliance it can take the following
actions:
1) Make the necessary salary adjustments to come into compliance.
DOER will probably suggest some actions that the city can take in
order to come into compliance. These actions may be easy and
inexpensive. Or they may require significant salary increases as
well as the approval of one or more bargaining units.
2) Request reconsideration. If the city disagrees with DOER's
compliance decision it may request reconsideration of the
decision. The city can claim that any inequities that exist are
not gender based but are caused by such factors as: recruitment
and retention difficulties or recent arbitration decisions. If
DOER agrees with the city it would reverse its decision.
3) Initiate a court challenge. If the city disagrees with DOER's
compliance decision it can request a hearing before an
administrative law judge.
Alternatives:
The city has no alternative at this time except to submit the
report.
1984
11/84
1/15/85
6/86
1985-87
1/1/87
4/87
10/87
1/l/88
3/25/88
11/7/88
l/1/89
3/28/89
Spring, 1990
Summer, 1990
Comparable Worth Chronology
Comparable Worth
Legislature.
law
passed ,by
Minnesota
Metropoli tan Area Management Association (MAMA)
selects Control Data Business Advisors to perform
a job analysis and evaluation study. Eventually
134 local jurisdictions will join in the study.
Hopkins ci ty Council authorizes the ci ty' s
participation in the Control Data study.
Control Data study Final Report.
City employees complete questionnaires,
spent profiles are produced, and points
assigned to city positions.
time
are
First comparable worth adjustment made to an
employee's salary.
Arthur Young salary plan study begun.
Arthur Young study completed.
salary ranges for all positions.
study suggests
Pay ranges implemented for Non-Union and HMEA
employees.
Pay Equity report submitted to the state.
Arbitration Hearing - Attempt by City to reduce
salary increase for police officers in order to
comply with comparable worth.
Pay range agreed to by Dispatchers/PSo union.
City loses arbitration with police officers.
Software made available by the Department of
Employee Relations (DOER) which, using regression
analysis, will produce a "scattergram". These
"scattergrams" will be reviewed by DOER to
determine whether jurisdictions are in
compliance.
City of Hopkins informally submits its
"scattergram" to DOER along with the
"scattergrams" of several other cities. DOER
determines that the "scattergram" representing
the city of Hopkins appears to be in compliance
with the pay equity law.
10/14/91
Rules published by DOER outlining a new computer
program for determining compliance.
11/91
City submits preliminary evaluation report to
DOER.
12/22/91
Report received back from DOER indicating that
the city is "not in compliance" based upon the
new software program.
12/30/91
HMEA approached concerning minor increases to the
maximum wage rates of the pay ranges which
contain HMEA members in an attempt to achieve
compliance prior to submittal of the final
report. HMEA indicates that it is not willing to
accede to this request.
1/13/92
Instructions and forms for submitting final Pay
Equity Implementation Report received from DOER.
1/31/92
Last day to submit final
Implementation Report to DOER.
Pay
Equity
1990 Scattergrarn
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