What's happening
This bill allows certain salary adjustments and step increases for county employees to resume if specific financial plan conditions are met.
Why it matters
Restores certain pay increases for county employees. The bill allows previously suspended "step" or "plan" salary increases to resume if the county submits and receives approval for a compliant four-year financial plan, giving employees more predictable compensation progression.
Links pay to fiscal responsibility. By tying the restoration of salary adjustments to the county’s ability to develop and get approval for a stable financial plan, the bill incentivizes county leadership to prioritize long-term financial health.
Broad employee coverage, even without union agreements. The resumption of salary adjustments applies to all affected county employees—whether unionized or not—if they participated in a past wage freeze, ensuring fairness and broader impact.
Excludes cost of living adjustments (COLAs). The bill only applies to "step" or "plan" increases, not COLAs, so while employees may resume merit or tenure-based raises, general inflation adjustments may still be suspended, affecting overall take-home pay.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Protect County Worker Pay Raises
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Approval memo.5
- Signed chap.355
- Delivered to governor
- Returned to senate
- Passed assembly
- Ordered to third reading rules cal.414
- Substituted for A10670
- Referred to ways and means
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 61–0
- Ordered to third reading cal.1654
- Referred to rules
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Allow Salary Step Increases
Assembly Floor Calendar · Sponsor Earlene Hooper
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
8805
IN SENATE
May 18, 2018
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to salary adjustments according to plan and step-ups or increments
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of section 3669 of the public authorities law, as added by chapter 84 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:
(a) During a control period, upon a finding by the authority that a wage freeze is essential to the adoption or maintenance of a county budget or a financial plan that is in compliance with this title, the authority, after enactment of a resolution so finding, may declare a fiscal crisis. Upon making such a declaration, the authority shall be empowered to order that all increases in salary or wages of employees of the county and employees of covered organizations which will take effect after the date of the order pursuant to collective bargaining agreements, other analogous contracts or interest arbitration awards, now in existence or hereafter entered into, requiring such salary increases as of any date thereafter are suspended. Such order may also provide that all increased payments for holiday and vacation differentials, and shift differentials[, salary adjustments according to plan and step-ups or increments] for employees of the county and employees of covered organizations which will take effect after the date of the order pursuant to collective bargaining agreements, other analogous contracts or interest arbitration awards requiring such increased payments as of any date thereafter are, in the same manner, suspended. Such order may also provide that all increased payments for salary adjustments according to plan and step-ups or increments be suspended; provided, however, when (i) the county executive provides a four year financial plan approved by the county legislature pursuant to paragraph (a) of subdivision two of section thirty-six hundred sixty-seven of this title and the authority determines, pursuant to paragraph (b) of such subdivision, that such financial plan is complete and complies with the standards set forth in
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11662-02-8
S. 8805 2
such subdivision, and (ii) the authority makes a certification to the county setting forth revenue estimates agreed to by the authority in accordance with such determination, the salary adjustments according to plan and step-ups or increments, not including cost of living increases, shall not be suspended for each year in which the four year financial plan has been certified. This section shall be applicable to county employees and employees of covered organizations, whether or not they are covered by a collectively negotiated agreement, if an individual employee or members of an employee's bargaining unit previously participated in a wage freeze implemented by the authority under this section and such wage freeze was subsequently lifted by the authority by the issuance of a resolution, pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision three of section thirty-six hundred sixty-nine of this title, certifying that the suspension of their wage increases or an agreement by the collective bargaining representative or by such unrepresented employee was an acceptable and appropriate contribution toward alleviating the fiscal crisis of the county. For the purposes of computing the pension base of retirement allowances, any suspended salary or wage increases and any suspended other payments shall not be considered as part of compensation or final compensation or of annual salary earned or earnable. The suspensions authorized hereunder shall continue until one year after the date of the order and, to the extent of any determination of the authority that a continuation of such suspensions, to a date specified by the authority, is necessary in order to achieve the objectives of the financial plan, such suspensions shall be continued to the date specified by the authority, which date shall in no event be later than the end of the interim finance period, provided that such suspensions shall terminate with respect to employees who have agreed to a deferral of salary or wage increase upon the certification of the agreement by the authority pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to have been in full force and effect on and after October 1, 2016.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public authorities law, in relation to salary adjustments according to plan and step-ups or incre- ments
Purpose or general idea of bill
To prevent certain suspensions of step up increases for the employees of the county in the event of a wage freeze declaration by the authority.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 amends section 3669 of the public authorities' law Section 2 sets an effective immediate date, which will be considered in full force and effect on October 1st, 2016.
Justification
This bill would provide a certain guarantee that employees will receive the contractual step ups that they should realize when they work towards the actual base pay that they were hired for as long as the County's four year multiyear plan is accepted by the Nassau Interim Finance Authority. The bill provides that if the four-year plan has been accepted by NIFA, any wage freeze resolutions by NIFA shall nbt include steps/increments during that four-year period. Step-ups are unique in labor contracts in that they are not a cost of living wage increase, but rather a series of steps/years to reach top pay. The top step base sala- ry of an employee reflects the salary agreed upon by the employer and the union to be paid to an employee in a specific title commensurate with the standard work to be performed by that title. This will help with the recruitment and retention issues that can plague employers in hiring. When the Nassau County Interim finance Authority implemented a wage freeze on the employees of the county of Nassau, Labor contributed over $270 million dollars in savings. Furthermore, the unions entered into memorandums of agreements (wage freeze concession deals) amending all of their respective contracts which caused a permanent decrease in labor costs into the future. During the litigation of the NIFA wage freeze the federal courts have held the that The Second circuit case of the Buffalo wage freeze: Rachel's Fed, n v. Tobe 464 F.3d 362 (2D Cir. 2206( (Buffalo) points out that wage freezes should be done as a final last resort . measure, not to be used as a collective bargaining tool. This bill would be consistent with that belief.
Prior legislative history
None
Fiscal implications for state and local governments
None
Effective date
Immediately and to be considered in full force and effect on October 1st, 2016
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.