H. B. 2445
(By Delegates Susman and Mahan)
[Introduced February 22, 2001; referred to the
Committee on Finance.]
A BILL to amend article five, chapter five of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated section five,
relating to pay equity increase review for department of
health and human resources workers who did not receive a pay
equity increase and who need further adjustment in spite of
the previous imposition under the Legislature's directive to
make an equity adjustment in one thousand nine hundred
ninety-nine; department to consider salary, tenure and other
relevant factors; pay adjustment to be made from funds
appropriated to the department in fiscal year two thousand
one; and, Legislature's intent that the section not create causes of action.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article five, chapter five of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by
adding thereto a new section, designated section five, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 5. SALARY INCREASE FOR STATE EMPLOYEES.
§5-5-5. Department of health and human resources to reexamine pay
equity salary adjustment of 1999.
The Legislature hereby finds that after the pay equity salary
adjustment required by section four of this article for workers of
the multiple agencies of the department of health and human
resources that inequities still exist. Because of these continuing
inequities, the Legislature also concludes that the department of
health and human resources must review the workers' jobs who,
either did not receive a pay equity increase previously mandated
under the provisions of section four of this article, and to make
appropriate adjustments, or who may need additional pay equity
adjustment and to make the adjustment. Salary adjustments shall be
provided from the funding appropriated to the department in the
fiscal year two thousand one and may not be considered as requiring additional appropriations from the Legislature. In the event any
provision of this section conflicts with any rule, policy or
provision of this code, the provisions of this section shall
control. In reexamining the pay equity salary adjustments, the
department shall give consideration to employee tenure, relevant
average salaries and such other factors as are relevant. Due to
the limits of funding, the results of these further pay equity
salary adjustments are not subject to the provisions of article
six-a, chapter twenty-nine of this code. The provisions of this
section are rehabilitative in nature and it is the specific intent
of the Legislature that no private cause of action, either express
or implied, shall arise under the provisions or implementation of
this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the department of
health and human resources to review the pay equity adjustments it
made under W.Va. Code 5-5-4 in 1999, focusing on those positions
that either did not receive such an adjustment or that may need
further adjustment. The bill directs DHHR to make further
adjustments to the positions that did not receive adjustment under
the pay equity enactment of 1999 or to make further adjustments to
the positions that need further adjustment.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.