HB 145: "An Act requiring pay equity for certain public employees and requiring the compensation of certain public employees based on the value of work performed."
00HOUSE BILL NO. 145 01 "An Act requiring pay equity for certain public employees and requiring the 02 compensation of certain public employees based on the value of work performed." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 23.40.070 is amended to read: 05 Sec. 23.40.070. DECLARATION OF POLICY. The legislature finds that joint 06 decision-making is the modern way of administering government. If public employees 07 have been granted the right to share in the decision-making process affecting wages 08 and working conditions, they have become more responsive and better able to 09 exchange ideas and information on operations with their administrators. Accordingly, 10 government is made more effective. The legislature further finds that the enactment of 11 positive legislation establishing guidelines for public employment relations is the best 12 way to harness and direct the energies of public employees eager to have a voice in 13 determining their conditions of work, to provide a rational method for dealing with 14 disputes and work stoppages, to strengthen the merit principle where civil service is
01 in effect, and to maintain a favorable political and social environment. The legislature 02 declares that it is the public policy of the state to promote harmonious and cooperative 03 relations between government and its employees and to protect the public by assuring 04 effective and orderly operations of government. These policies are to be effectuated 05 by 06 (1) recognizing the right of public employees to organize for the 07 purpose of collective bargaining; 08 (2) requiring public employers to negotiate with and enter into written 09 agreements with employee organizations on matters of wages, hours, and other terms 10 and conditions of employment; 11 (3) maintaining merit-system principles among public employees and 12 eliminating sex-based wage disparities in public employment. 13 * Sec. 2. AS 39.90 is amended by adding new sections to read: 14 ARTICLE 3. PAY EQUITY. 15 Sec. 39.90.200. COMPENSATION POLICY. It is the policy of this state to 16 establish pay equity between female-dominated, male-dominated, and balanced classes 17 of employees in order to eliminate sex-based wage disparities in public employment. 18 Sec. 39.90.210. JOB EVALUATION SYSTEM. (a) Each public employer 19 shall use a job evaluation system to determine the comparable work value of the work 20 performed by each class of employees. The system shall be maintained and upgraded 21 to account for new employee classes and changes in factors affecting the comparable 22 work value of existing classes. Public employers shall meet and confer with the 23 bargaining organizations representing public employees on the development or 24 selection of a job evaluation system under this section. 25 (b) At a minimum, the job evaluation system shall be based on the following 26 factors, measured objectively: 27 (1) the knowledge and skills needed for acceptable job performance, 28 including substantive knowledge and managerial skills; 29 (2) the intellectual effort required including the creativity and analytical 30 skills needed for acceptable job performance, the degree to which the employee works 31 independently, and the complexity of the problems assigned to the employee;
01 (3) the employee's accountability for the employee's actions and the 02 consequences of the employee's job performance, including the employee's level of 03 discretion and the potential for benefit or harm to the employer or the public from the 04 employee's job performance; and 05 (4) working conditions, including the physical skills and effort required, 06 whether the job environment is disagreeable or physically demanding, the hazards 07 presented by the job, and the work shift. 08 (c) Each public employer shall submit a report containing the results of the job 09 evaluation system to the bargaining organizations representing public employees. The 10 report shall be used by the parties in collective bargaining negotiations. The report 11 must identify, at a minimum, the female-dominated classes and male-dominated classes 12 for which pay inequity exists, based on the comparable work value, and the data, other 13 than data that reveals information about individual employees or former employees, 14 used to support these findings. 15 (d) After considering the list of classes in which pay inequity exists, each 16 public employer shall prepare a plan to create pay equity for those positions. The 17 employer shall submit the plan to the legislature by January 1 of each odd-numbered 18 year together with the list of classes between which pay inequity exists and an estimate 19 of the appropriation necessary to achieve pay equity for the classes on the list. The 20 appropriation estimate shall be allocated by class. 21 (e) The legislature shall review the plan and recommended appropriation of 22 each public employer and may accept, amend, or reject the plan. If funding for the 23 plan is included in an appropriation that does not otherwise allocate the amount 24 appropriated, the public employer shall allocate the funding according to the plan or, 25 if the plan was amended by the legislature, according to the amended plan. If the 26 funding is insufficient to fully fund the plan, or the amended plan, if applicable, the 27 employer shall pro rate the amount available among the classes included in the plan. 28 If the legislature does not appropriate money for the plan, the employer shall submit 29 the plan to the next legislature. 30 (f) If a public employer finds that pay inequity exists in a class that is part of 31 a collective bargaining unit, the employer shall notify the collective bargaining
01 organization representing the bargaining unit when the employer submits the 02 compensation equity plan to the legislature. 03 (g) Notwithstanding AS 23.40.110, it is not an unfair labor practice for a 04 public employer to specify an amount of money to be used solely to correct inequitable 05 pay relationships. 06 (h) Notwithstanding (d) of this section, it remains the policy of the state to 07 negotiate pay rate adjustments through the collective bargaining process in all areas 08 covered by bargaining agreements. 09 (i) AS 39.90.200 - 39.90.300 do not diminish the duty of a public employer 10 to bargain in good faith under AS 23.40.070 - 23.40.260. 11 Sec. 39.90.220. PUBLIC EMPLOYER NEGOTIATING POSITIONS. (a) In 12 preparing to negotiate with a collective bargaining organization representing public 13 employees, and in preparing the position classification plan and the pay plan for other 14 employees, the public employer shall assure that compensation for 15 (1) positions in the different services of the employer compare 16 reasonably to one another; 17 (2) positions in public service bears a reasonable relationship to 18 compensation for similar positions outside public service; 19 (3) management positions bears a reasonable relationship to 20 compensation of the employees managed by the positions; 21 (4) positions within one service bears a reasonable relationship among 22 related classes and among various levels within the same occupations. 23 (b) In this section, the compensations paid to different positions bear a 24 reasonable relationship to one another if the compensation for positions that require 25 (1) comparable skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions is 26 comparable; and 27 (2) differing skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions is 28 related to the skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions required of the 29 different positions. 30 Sec. 39.90.300. DEFINITIONS. In AS 39.90.200 - 39.90.300, 31 (1) "balanced class" means a class in which no more than 70 percent
01 of the incumbents are male and no more than 70 percent of the incumbents are female; 02 (2) "class" means one or more positions that have similar duties and 03 responsibilities and require similar qualifications to perform the duties so that the same 04 descriptive title can be used with clarity for each position in the class, the same 05 selection procedures can be used to recruit employees, and the same compensation 06 schedule can be applied with equity to all positions in the class working under the 07 same or substantially the same employment conditions; 08 (3) "comparable work value" means the value of the work measured 09 by the composite of the skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions normally 10 required in the performance of the work; 11 (4) "female-dominated class" means a class in which more than 70 12 percent of the incumbents are female; 13 (5) "male-dominated class" means a class in which more than 70 14 percent of the incumbents are male; 15 (6) "management positions" means those positions accountable for 16 (A) determining, securing, and allocating human, financial, and 17 other resources needed to accomplish objectives; 18 (B) determining overall objectives, priorities, and policies within 19 a program area; 20 (C) handling significant and involved relationships with 21 governmental leadership; or 22 (D) exercising discretionary powers on a regular basis; 23 (7) "pay equity" means compensation based on comparable work value; 24 (8) "pay inequity" means compensation that is not based on comparable 25 work value; 26 (9) "public employer" means 27 (A) a department, institution, board, commission, division, 28 authority, public corporation, committee, or other administrative unit of the 29 executive, judicial, or legislative branch of state government, including the 30 University of Alaska and the Alaska State Housing Authority, but not including 31 the Alaska Railroad Corporation; and
01 (B) a school district or regional educational attendance area. 02 * Sec. 3. (a) Notwithstanding AS 39.90.210(d), enacted by sec. 2 of this Act, a public 03 employer shall make the initial report to the legislature under AS 39.90.210(d) by January 1, 04 1996. The initial report must include 05 (1) the following information for each job class, as of July 1, 1995: 06 (A) the title of the job class, the number of incumbents, and the 07 percentage of incumbents who are male and the percentage who are female; 08 (B) the comparable work value of the job class as determined under the 09 system chosen under AS 39.90.210, enacted by sec. 2 of this Act; 10 (C) the minimum and maximum monthly salary authorized for each job 11 class; 12 (2) a description of the job evaluation system used by the public employer; 13 (3) a plan for establishing equitable pay relationships between female-dominated and male-dominated job classes, 14 including 15 (A) identification of classes for which a pay inequity exists based on 16 the comparable work value of the class; 17 (B) a timetable for implementing pay equity; and 18 (C) the estimated cost of implementing pay equity. 19 (b) If requested by a public employer, the commissioner of administration shall 20 provide technical assistance in completing the report required by this section.