Â鶹´«Ã½ is committed to equitable compensation practices. In as much, an annual salary equity review is conducted to identify and address possible inequities in salaries of faculty and administrators. The focus of the review examines any differences in salary that could be affected by gender or ethnicity. Adjustments made through this process are for equity only and will not address problems of merit or compression although either of these factors could justify a salary differential.
Cases for review are identified by the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity, the Association of University Administrators, the Coalition of Black Faculty and Administrators, the Hispanic/Latino Employee Association, Asian and Asian-American Faculty Caucus, and the Women's Caucus. You may also self-identify. For self-identification submissions, please fill out and submit the self-identification form (found on Equity and Diversity's website) and the required supporting statement. The statement should include a rationale supporting the belief that your salary may be adversely impacted because of gender and/or ethnicity.
Please note, when cases are forwarded for justification/recommendation, Deans and Vice Presidents will not be notified of how the request for review was initiated. Once a recommendation or justification has been provided by the Dean or Vice President, this office will review the response in light of all relevant supplemental information. On the basis of this review, this office will request clarification and additional information to support the proffered justification.
General Guidance
The annual Salary Equity Review is conducted for the sole purpose of monitoring compliance with laws governing equal pay and nondiscrimination in compensation practices. To ensure an equitable and objective review, merit increases are considered independent of this process because it only addresses inequities resulting from unjustifiable gaps in salary between similarly situated employees who differ in gender or ethnicity. By design, the process does not address salary differentials resulting from compression or other market driven factors.
The review process begins with a pair-wise comparison as the initial stage of review. In short, a pair-wise comparison identifies salary differentials of at least one thousand dollars in similarly situated persons. For instructional and administrative faculty, some factors to consider when identifying similarly situated persons include, type of degree, year degree received, college, department, rank/title, year tenured, and years of experience at the University. All things being equal, similarly situated persons are expected to have similar salaries. In the event a differential is identified the salary equity process seeks to justify it or make an adjustment to correct it. If the differential can not be justified and the similarly situated persons are only different in gender or ethnicity a salary adjustment is appropriate to correct the pay inequity. Pay inequities based on gender and ethnicity are in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Pay Act.
Some factors that can justify a differential in salary between similarly situated persons are performance, retention, and compression. When available, annual merit increases are designed to reflect the performance of an employee. Retention salary adjustments can be used to retain an employee who has obtained an offer from another employer or whose absence would create a considerable financial loss for a program, department or college and ultimately the university. Finally, compression adjustments recognize changes in market value of the services of usually a long term employee. Unlike pay inequities, retention and compression adjustments are discretionary. For more detailed information please refer to the University's Salary Equity Procedure or contact the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity.
Salary Equity Review Process
I. Purpose
The University's salary equity review process is designed to resolve the problems associated with salary differentials that affect members of protected classes of employees. The University's policies prohibit discrimination, regardless of intention, on the basis of gender, race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, or political affiliation. Salary equity review process is designed to eliminate statistically significant salary differentials that may have arisen due to discrimination. This policy does not deal with salary differentials that have arisen because of other factors such as salary compression.
II. General Procedures
The President approves these guidelines. Funding to support any salary increments made as a part of this salary equity review process will be a part of the salary funds allocated to each unit. The Assistant Vice President of Institutional Equity and Diversity, who reports to the President, is responsible for the implementation of the guidelines and the ongoing operation of the salary equity review process. Ordinarily, the Assistant Vice President of Institutional Equity and Diversity will begin accepting any requests for salary equity review by February 15th of each year. These requests will be acted upon in a timely fashion so that any salary adjustments that result will take effect on July 1st.
III. Specific Procedures
A. The Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity assembles required salary information to be used in the review process
B. Salary equity review requests may come from any source, including a specific faculty, staff or administrative employee, from an administrative superior of the employee, from a constituent group such as the Women's Caucus, the Coalition of Black Faculty and Administrators, the Hispanic & Latino Employee Association, the Asian Caucus or from the Assistant Vice President of Institutional Equity and Diversity. All requests must be forwarded to the Assistant Vice President of Institutional Equity and Diversity. All supporting data and materials must accompany these requests.
C. The Assistant Vice President of Institutional Equity and Diversity will analyze these requests and forward them to the appropriate Vice President, along with the Assistant Vice President's comments.
D. The Vice President, on the basis of supported information, will determine any salary equity adjustments.
E. The Vice President submits his/her final list of salary recommendations, with all other salary increase recommendations, to the President, who will consult with the Assistant Vice President of Institutional Equity and Diversity.
F. The President approves the Vice President's recommendations, in whole or in part, and may choose to ask for additional information and analysis.
G. The Budget Office prepares a memorandum for the President's signatures that reflect his/her final salary equity review decision.
IV. Review Request
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