Rebecca Proctor: State workers not respected

In most workplaces, respect or recognition of worth or excellence comes in the form of pay raises (“State respects its workers,” Sept. 10 Opinion). According to the yearly handbooks issued to state legislators, state employees in Kansas have not had an across-the-board raise since 2009.

Gov. Sam Brownback did propose a 1.5 percent pay increase for state employees, but that small increase was neither passed nor implemented. This is an ongoing pattern. During the 2014 legislative session, a proposed pay increase was ultimately reduced to a one-time $250 bonus.

State employee pay in Kansas lags far behind the market. For example, state corrections officers earn $13.61 per hour. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Kansas just barely avoids being in the lowest 10 percent nationwide. From 2009 to 2012, some employees did receive so-called market increases. Yet pay remains low.

The problem is broader than state employees not receiving pay increases. Higher benefit costs have resulted in most state employees seeing de facto pay cuts.

Though Kansas Public Employees Retirement System reforms passed by the Legislature do improve the pension system’s health, those reforms also require higher employee contributions. Health insurance premiums have increased every year. The result is employees leaving the state. Those who stay have an ever-shrinking paycheck with an ever-increasing workload.

Respect could take the form of a positive and secure work environment. During the marathon 2015 legislative session, state employees were threatened with furloughs and were used as pawns in budget negotiations. This created uncertainty for all state workers about whether they should come to work, and whether they would be paid for the work they did.

The 2015 Legislature also dismantled the civil service system. This was a comprehensive system of personnel management, ensuring all employees within the same position had consistent pay and working conditions, regardless of the agency where they worked.

Without civil service rules, pay is entirely at the discretion of the agency. There is no check to ensure equitable pay either within a position or across agencies. Self-funding agencies with higher budgets can pay more, while agencies funded through the state general fund must pay less. Additionally, civil service rules also required dismissal of any employee be “reasonable” and based on job performance or conduct. With the removal of these protections, state employees can now be dismissed for any reason at all, including political affiliation.

The state pays lip service to employee respect, but actions speak louder than words. State employees are not respected. Need proof? Look at the long list of open state jobs.

This story was originally published September 15, 2015 at 7:05 PM with the headline "Rebecca Proctor: State workers not respected."