Pay plan increase in January approved

The state’s legislative Joint Committee on Employment Relations (JCOER) approved a pay plan for state employees on Tuesday that includes a 2 percent wage increase in each of the next two years for most UW–Madison employees.

Employees should expect to see the Jan. 2, 2022, increase on their earnings statement for Jan. 27, 2022. Employees who are receiving the pay increase will receive a written confirmation of their new pay rate.

The JCOER action is the final step for the 2021­–23 state employee pay plan first approved by the Joint Finance Committee last June. The pay plan specifies a 2 percent increase for all state employees, including faculty and staff at UW–Madison, in each of the next two years.

All Academic Staff, Faculty, Limited, and University Staff are eligible to receive the pay plan increase. Some employee categories, including Temporary Employees and student hourly employees, are not eligible.

To be eligible to receive the January 2022 pay increase, individuals must have been employed in their current positions on Dec. 5, 2021. Employees must also have completed UW–Madison’s sexual harassment prevention training; completed cybersecurity awareness training; and met performance expectations as identified in their last performance evaluation. Supervisors are required to be up to date on performance evaluations for the employees they supervise. Additional criteria may apply at the divisional level.

For employees in the building trades, JCOER also approved the pending collective bargaining agreements for the last two fiscal years. These contracts stipulate increases of 1.81 percent (effective Jan. 3, 2021) and 1.23 percent (effective Jan. 2, 2022). After JCOER approval, the full legislature and governor need to approve the collective bargaining agreements before the pay increases can be implemented.