The purpose of this document is to present policies for determining starting pay, the hourly rate upon movement to a new position or job, promotional pay, and guidelines for setting the rate for temporary and project appointments. Policies for temporary base adjustments, salary adjustments during interim appointments, salary adjustments within a title, overtime, compensatory time, and other pay components specifically created for non-exempt University Staff are also provided.

In order to fulfill its mission, the UWM shall maintain a comprehensive compensation program directed toward attracting, retaining and rewarding a qualified and diverse workforce. Employee compensation shall be externally competitive, internally equitable, and shall reward contribution, recognize quality performance, and encourage growth and development.

• Base Funds: Institutional funds that are part of its budget; not part of Board of Regents pay plan funds.
• Compensatory Time: Time off the job which is earned and accrued by a non-exempt employee in lieu of immediate cash payment for overtime.
• Premium Rate: The regular hourly rate plus 0.5 times the regular rate paid the non-exempt employee.
• Regular Rate: The hourly rate actually paid the non-exempt employee for all hours worked in the workweek or work period, including all remuneration for employment paid to, or on behalf of, the employee, except any payments specifically excluded from the calculation of the regular rate under the FLSA and related federal regulations.
• Work Hours: Work time as directed by the appointing authority during which an employee must be on duty and/or at a prescribed place of work.

• All pay determinations shall demonstrate a commitment to UW Milwaukee’s Compensation Philosophy.
• All salary adjustment and hire requests must include a compensation analysis/pay equity study with salary and seniority data for all UW-Milwaukee employees in the requested title.
• All pay rate assignments must be approved by the Department of Human Resources, and by the Provost’s Office for hires in academic units.
• See UW System Administrative Policy SYS 1277 for additional information on compensation for University Staff employees.
• Each employee may only have one FLSA designation regardless of number of appointments.
• UWM acknowledges the existence of FLSA exempt University Staff that may have changes in duties and responsibilities. The Department of Human Resources will work closely with the Schools/Colleges/Divisions on matters related to these staff and their appropriate titling.

1. Starting Pay
   1. The base pay may be set at any rate that is not less than the minimum of the applicable pay range and not greater than the maximum, subject to the compensation analysis.
   2. In the event that the requested base pay rate is above the midpoint of the applicable pay range, the hiring unit shall submit a compensation analysis and request for a salary exception via the Applicant Information Management System (AIMS) to the Department of Human Resources and the Provost’s Office.
2. Salary Rate Upon Movement To A New Position/Job (Occurs Via Recruitment)
   1. The base pay may be set at any rate that is not less than the minimum of the applicable pay range and not greater than the maximum.
   2. The hiring unit shall submit a compensation analysis and request for a salary exception via AIMS to the Department of Human Resources and the Provost’s Office if the employee’s rate is above the minimum of the new range and the rate requested for the new position is any of following:
      1. Greater than a 10% change.
      2. Above the midpoint of the range.
      3. Greater than 2% variance from the average of the applicable title salaries at UWM.
3. Staff Promotional Pay (Occurs Via Title Change)
   1. The base pay may be set at any rate that is not less than 5% above the minimum of the applicable pay range, subject to the maximum of the pay range.
   2. In the event that the requested base pay increase exceeds 10% of the rate as determined in (1) above, approval of this proposed rate shall be sought by submitting a Non-Merit Related Salary Adjustment form together with a memorandum to the Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources justifying the requested rate. For all requests received from academic units, the Provost’s Office shall be copied on this memorandum.

      Example: An Administrative Assistant II with a current hourly rate of $15.00 is retitled to an Administrative Assistant III. As the minimum hourly rate of the Administrative Assistant III salary grade is $15.38, the new hourly rate must be at least $16.15.

4. Salary Rate For Temporary And Project Employees
   1. University Staff Temporary employees (formerly “LTE”) must be paid at least the state or federal minimum wage, whichever is greater, unless a lower wage is authorized by the Department of Human Resources, in accordance with Section 14 of the Fair Labor Standards Act and Wis. Stat. § 104.07.
   2. The base rate of a University Staff Temporary employee may not exceed the established pay range maximum for the title assigned.
   3. Pay determination for University Staff Project (formerly “Classified Project”) employees shall be subject to the starting pay requirements provided in section 5A of this document.
   4. See the UW-Milwaukee University Staff Temporary and Project Appointments Guidelines for additional information on temporary appointments.
5. Temporary Base Adjustments
   1. Temporary base salary adjustments may be utilized in cases where an employee assumes temporary responsibilities. The level of the base salary adjustment should be appropriate for the new assignment. Temporary base salary adjustments are not overload payments.
   2. A temporary base salary adjustment may also be used as a mechanism to acknowledge achievement of a special qualification or job attribute that is not permanent or is seasonal. For example, a police officer may receive a temporary base salary adjustment for horseback duties since these would be performed on a seasonal basis. It is expected that in most cases, compensation for a special qualification or job attribute would be on a permanent basis and would, therefore, be addressed as an adjustment meeting the requirement of merit/exceptional performance pay.
   3. Temporary base salary adjustments shall be sought by submitting a Non-Merit Related Salary Adjustment form to the Department of Human Resources. The request shall include a thorough explanation for the request, including the expected duration of the adjustment.
6. Salary Adjustments For Interim Appointments
   1. When a University Staff employee is asked to serve in an acting/interim appointment, a compensation analysis/pay equity study shall be done to ensure that, to the extent possible, the salary offered for an acting assignment does not create inequities with comparable positions at UW-Milwaukee (or other institutions in the UW System, when applicable).
   2. When a permanent appointment is made, the acting or interim appointee can expect to be returned to his/her former position at a salary consistent with the salary the person had prior to assuming the acting appointment, plus any increases that the person would have received but for accepting the acting responsibility.
7. Non-Merit Base Adjustments Within A Title
   1. Non-Merit Reasons for Adjustments within a Title include:
      1. Adjustments for Change in Duties: If there is a substantive change in the duties and responsibilities of a filled position that does not result in a title change, a salary adjustment may be requested.
      2. Adjustments for Retention: This adjustment may be used when the employing department is aware that an employee is actively seeking other employment and the resultant loss of the employee’s knowledge and experience would be a detriment to the department, division, or campus.
      3. Counter Offer Adjustments: This adjustment reflects a salary increase necessary to retain a person who has received an outside offer of employment (with comparable duties and responsibilities) at a rate higher than his/her existing rate. The position offered must be from an employer outside of the UW System.
      4. Equity Adjustments: This adjustment may be used when the employee’s salary has been determined to be lower than that of other UW System employees performing the same or similar duties at the same level of proficiency and who have comparable years of experience. This action may also be used if there is significant pay compression between the employee and his/her immediate subordinates; or established labor market data identifies a need to award market adjustments in order to achieve equity with external public/private employers.
   2. Requirements for Non-Merit Adjustments:
      1. Non-merit base adjustments shall be sought by submitting a Non-Merit Related Salary Adjustment form to the Department of Human Resources.
      2. A compensation analysis/pay equity study with salary and seniority data for all UW-Milwaukee employees in the same title must be attached to the non-merit form.
      3. Human Resources will forward all requests from academic units as well as any request for an increase greater than 10% to the Provost’s Office for final approval.
      4. All non-merit base adjustments are subject to the minimum and maximum of the applicable pay range.
      5. Specific documentation requirements for each type of non-merit adjustment are provided on the Non-Merit Related Salary Adjustment form.
8. Merit Adjustments
   1. Merit adjustments allow for recognition of an employee’s superior or meritorious service. Relevant factors that should be considered include:
      1. Length or frequency of superior performance.
      2. Regularity with which outstanding contributions are demonstrated.
      3. Overall significance or importance of the employee’s work to the department, division, or campus.
   2. Required Documentation for Merit Adjustments:
      1. Merit adjustments shall be sought by submitting a Merit Request form to the Department of Human Resources.
      2. Human Resources will forward all requests from academic units as well as any request for an increase greater than 10% to the Provost’s Office for final approval.
      3. The request shall include a thorough justification for the base adjustment that specifically addresses at least one of the relevant merit factors listed above.
      4. A compensation analysis/pay equity study with salary and seniority data for all UW-Milwaukee employees in the same title shall be attached to the Merit Request.
      5. Additional documentation requirements for merit adjustments are provided on the merit adjustment request form.
9. Overtime
   1. Except for law enforcement officers (see below), Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) non-exempt employees must be paid at a premium rate or receive compensatory time credits at a rate of 1.5 hours per hour worked, for each hour worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek. Hours worked do not include hours of paid leave.
   2. FLSA non-exempt law enforcement officers must be paid at a premium rate or receive compensatory time credits at a rate of 1.5 hours per hour worked, for each hour worked in excess of 80 hours in a 2-week pay period.
   3. All overtime work must be approved by the designated appointing authority or administrator in advance of the hours being worked.
   4. If overtime is earned on a legal holiday, payment of overtime is at the premium rate. Floating legal holiday is granted to employees who are required to work on the legal holiday or if the legal holiday is on an employee’s regularly scheduled day off, per UW System Administrative Policy SYS 1211.
10. Compensatory Time
    1. The FLSA authorizes public employers the option of providing employees with compensatory time (comp time) off in lieu of cash for overtime so long as the employee has received notice of the comp time option.
    2. FLSA non-exempt employees and exempt employees in law enforcement are permitted to accumulate up to 80 hours of compensatory time. Comp time for FLSA non- exempt employees will accrue at a rate of 1.5 hours per hour worked, for each hour worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek. Any hours worked by FLSA non-exempt employees that exceed the 80-hour limit shall be paid in cash at the premium rate. Any hours worked by FLSA exempt employees in law enforcement that exceed the 80-hour limit shall be paid in cash at the regular rate.
    3. UW System employees must use accrued compensatory time no later than four months after the end of the calendar year in which the comp time was earned. Any comp time unused by April 30th of the following calendar year will be converted to cash payment and included in the earnings for the May A pay period (the pay period that includes May 1st).
    4. The appointing authority has the discretion to approve scheduled use of compensatory time earned in lieu of cash payment for overtime hours.
    5. For more information on compensatory time, please see the UW System Compensatory Time Policy.
11. Additional Pay Components For FLSA Non-Exempt University Staff
    1. Night Differential: Forty-five cents ($0.45) per hour for all hours worked between the hours of 6:00 P.M. and 6:00 A.M.
    2. Weekend Differential: Sixty cents ($0.60) per hour for all weekend hours worked (i.e., work hours between the hours of 12:01 A.M. on Saturday and 12:00 midnight on Sunday.
    3. Legal Holiday Premium: Compensatory time off or payment at the premium rate will be granted for hours worked on days identified as legal holidays in UW System Administrative Policy SYS 1211.
    4. Standby Pay: When an employee is required by the institution’s administrators to be available for work and able to report to work in less than one hour, the employee will receive $2.25 for each hour in standby status.
    5. Call-Back/Call-In Pay: A minimum of two hours pay is guaranteed when an employee is called back for duty or called in on the employee’s day off.
    6. Communications Outside of Work Hours: If the Employer contacts the employee at home for the purpose of discussing job-related business, the employee shall be credited with work time for all such calls. In no case shall the employee receive less than a single one-half (½) hour credit per day for such calls under this section.

       Examples of job-related business calls include: calls regarding specific patient treatment procedures, questions regarding operation of equipment, clarification of instructions, and repair procedures.

       Examples of non-job-related business calls include: calls made to call an employee back to work, availability for overtime, and scheduling changes.