Civil Service Commission to lift salary increase suspension

The newly established Civil Service Commission in its recent meetings has been reviewing the suspension currently placed on Civil Service salary increase provisions as authorized in the Personnel Service System Rules & Regulations. This suspension has been in effect since then-governor Pedro P. Tenorio’s 2001 letter to the commission declaring the need for financial austerity measures. These austerity measures suspended salary increases due to permanent or temporary promotions, acting or detail assignments, reallocation or reclassification of positions, and step increases based on attendance at training programs. These austerity measures have also not been lifted since their 2001 implementation.

This suspension may only be lifted when the commission provides notification of its lifting in the Commonwealth Register. Upon the lifting of the suspension, current employees who had qualified for a salary increase during the time of the suspension will receive their pay increases effective the date that the suspension is lifted. The pay increases cannot be applied retroactive to any date that occurred during the suspension.

After close review and consideration, the commission believes that the time has come to lift its suspension of the salary increase provisions. It intends to announce the lifting of its Nov. 8, 2001, suspension on salary increases in the upcoming Commonwealth Register.

The commission is confident that doing so will advance the inherent purpose of the Civil Service Act, which is to build a career service that will “attract, select, and retain the best qualified civil servants on merit who shall hold their offices or positions free from coercion, discrimination, reprisal or political influence, with incentives in the form of genuine opportunities for promotions in the public service, to provide competent and loyal personnel to render impartial service to the public at all times, and to render such service according to the dictates of ethics and morality.”

Lifting the salary increase suspension will move the Civil Service System in the direction necessary to achieve this purpose.

This action relates only to the regulatory suspension as defined above and does not affect the ongoing suspension of annual within-grade increases, merit increases and Public Law 10-76 bonuses for employees frozen at Step 12 in their grade. Additionally, the step increase based on attendance at workshops and other training programs will remain suspended.

The commission met with Gov. Eloy S. Inos on several occasions regarding this issue and discussed the content and intent of the letter. In these meetings, the governor supported the commission’s proposed lifting of the suspension. Both the commission and the governor recognized that any increases effected must still be within the approved budget funding.

Accordingly, the commission will place the required notice in the next Commonwealth Register to lift the suspension with an effective date of 30 days from the date of publication in the Register. (CSC)