CAPS-UAW Supervisor/Manager Member:

As mentioned in our July 11th Supervisors Update, CalHR has approved a July 1, 2024, 2% General Salary Increase (GSI) for S10/M10 excluded employees whose classifications are “tied to Unit 9.” (A complete list of those classifications is below.) Several of you have asked what “tied to Unit 9” means. 

“Tied to Unit 9” is a phrase coined by CalHR which refers to those excluded (supervisory/managerial) classifications who, as a result of CAPS’ Like Pay for Like Work (LPLW) filing, were determined to have similar and comparable duties to Unit 9 excluded classes, and therefore, should receive similar pay. 

As you likely know, CAPS filed the LPLW claim with CalHR (known then as the Department of Personnel Administration or DPA) in 2006 arguing that the duties/responsibilities of 14 supervisory classifications were sufficiently similar to supervisory engineering classifications and, by law, they must therefore receive similar pay. (Ca. Gov Code §19826, “The salary range shall be based on the principle that like salaries shall be paid for comparable duties and responsibilities.”)

DPA agreed with the argument, however the governor refused to implement the pay increase at that time, so CAPS took them to court and won at the trial level (superior court). The State appealed this decision to the Third District Court of Appeal and ultimately had the decision overturned. The basis for the appellate court’s 2011 determination had nothing to do with whether the classifications were similar (they were), but whether the law “imposes a ministerial duty” (which simply means “a duty that must be performed”) on the Department of Finance to present those salary increases to the legislature for its approval. The appellate court held that it did not have such a ministerial duty, and therefore, if the Department of Finance chose to not include the increased compensation amounts for legislative approval, the court cannot force them to do so. And that’s where we stood until 2014, when Governor Jerry Brown finally issued a Pay Letter increasing the salaries of what we now refer to as the “LPLW classifications.” 

This year’s Pay Letter, which, according to CalHR representatives, will be released this week, will have (consistent with Pay Letter 23-23 from last year) the following S10/M10 classifications listed below as receiving the 2% GSI, effective July 1, 2024: 

 Class

Code   Class Title

0753    Integrated Waste Program Manager

0756    Environmental Program Manager I (Supervisory)

0759    Supervising Integrated Waste Management Specialist I

0760    Environmental Program Manager I (Managerial)

0764    Senior Environmental Scientist (Supervisory)

0769    Environmental Program Manager II

0783    Program Manager I, California Bay-Delta Authority

0784    Program Manager II, California Bay-Delta Authority

0785    Program Manager III, California Bay-Delta Authority

3062    Land and Water Use Program Manager I

3081    Senior Land and Water Use Scientist

3749    Senior Seismologist

3841    Supervising Industrial Hygienist

3852    Senior Industrial Hygienist

4058    Energy Commission Supervisor II (Technology Evaluation and Development)

4599    Energy Commission Supervisor II (Forecasting)

4805    Energy Resource Specialist III (Managerial)

4813    Energy Resources Specialist III (Supervisory)

4940    Energy Commission Supervisor II (Efficiency)

6231    Supervising Industrial Hygiene Specialist, State Compensation Insurance Fund

9320    Senior Industrial Hygiene Specialist, State Compensation Insurance Fund

9362    Senior Ergonomic Specialist, State Compensation Insurance Fund

As mentioned in the previous Supervisor’s Update, the CAPS-UAW Supervisory Committee met with CalHR to discuss several items, including its decision to withhold the GSI from classifications that are not considered “tied to Unit 9”, and therefore not on the above list (e.g. Research Scientists, Toxicologists, etc.). We argued that these classifications’ salaries already lag behind their counterparts and excluding them from further increases only exacerbates the problem. Specifically, we argued that incumbent supervisors in these classes will naturally seek the higher paying positions, leaving aside those classes not “tied to Unit 9,” leaving a dearth of knowledge behind. So, unfortunately, by denying the increase to this group of supervisors again, CalHR appears to find this outcome acceptable. Your CAPS-UAW Supervisory Committee is very concerned about this decision and is currently working to form a plan of action to address this injustice.      

CAPS-UAW Supervisors Survey. The CAPS-UAW Supervisory Committee wants to hear from you! Please take a few minutes to review and submit the following survey: https://app.surveymethods.com/s/CAPS/Supervisors_Survey_2024/. Your responses will help guide and determine the CAPS-UAW Supervisory Committee’s priorities. Please submit it no later than Friday, July 26. 

Have a question? As a CAPS-UAW Member, you have access to labor relations professionals. The best way to reach a CAPS-UAW labor representative is emailing: caps@capsscientists.org.

In Solidarity!

The CAPS-UAW Supervisory Committee