Presidential Updates

Clif’s Notes for Dec. 3, 2019

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Last year, Missouri voters approved a change to the minimum wage rate for private employers. The rate increased to $8.60 per hour in January 2019 and increases by an additional 85 cents per hour in January of each year through 2023.

The law does not apply to public employers, such as Missouri State. Regardless, we increased the minimum wage to $8.60 per hour in July.

I am pleased to report that the university has decided to once again increase the minimum wage for all employees (including part-time and student employees) to $9.45 per hour effective Jan. 1, 2020.

Cost centers will reallocate over $500,000 to fund this pay increase. This is in addition to the $9.9 million that the university allocated for pay raises and additional benefits during FY2019 and in the FY2020 budget.

While the law does not require the university to increase the minimum wage, our compensation for part-time and student employees must remain competitive with off-campus employment opportunities.

University leadership and the board are committed to making Missouri State a great place to work. We know that compensation plays a big role. Additional compensation decisions will be made during the FY2021 budgeting process in the coming months.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for Oct. 9, 2018

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In June, I told you that if we received the funds appropriated by the legislature for fiscal year 2019, we would reconvene the Executive Budget Committee to evaluate options for a mid-year compensation increase.

We are over three months into the fiscal year, and I am pleased to report that we are on pace to receive the funds appropriated by the legislature. Many thanks to the Missouri General Assembly and Governor Mike Parson for restoring the funding cuts proposed earlier in the year.

As promised, the Executive Budget Committee met last week and developed its recommendation for a mid-year compensation increase. The committee will recommend that the Board of Governors approve an ongoing across-the-board compensation increase of one percent plus $600 for all full-time faculty and staff hired on or before Sept. 30, 2018. The proposed increase will be added to base pay starting on Jan. 1, 2019, for 12-month employees and on Feb. 1, 2019 for 9- and10-month employees.

This will cost the Springfield campus approximately $2.5 million in annual operating funds. This is the same cost as a 2.1 percent across-the-board raise. The Executive Budget Committee opted to structure the raise with a $600 flat component to soften the impact of increased premiums in the medical plan and to ensure that the pay raise helps our lowest paid employees the most.

Under this model:

  • An employee whose salary is $30,000 will receive a $900 pay increase (a 3 percent raise). A 2.1 percent raise would have resulted in a $630 pay increase.
  • An employee whose salary is $50,000 will receive a $1,100 pay increase (a 2.2 percent raise). A 2.1 percent raise would have resulted in a $1,050 pay increase.
  • An employee whose salary is $100,000 will receive a $1,600 pay increase (a 1.6 percent raise). A 2.1 percent raise would have resulted in a $2,100 pay increase.

Even with this increase, I recognize that our salaries at Missouri State lag behind national averages for all employee groups. Compensation remains a concern for the board and the administration, and we will continue to prioritize compensation increases as we develop budgets in the future.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for June 26, 2018

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Compensation for faculty and staff is a high priority for me, the Board of Governors and leaders throughout campus.

Last week the board approved a one-time retention payment. Full-time faculty and staff members (including auxiliary and grant-funded employees) will receive a $700 retention payment in their August 2018 paycheck.

To be eligible to receive the payment, you must hold a full-time position on Aug. 1, 2018 and have been employed in a full-time position on or before Jan. 1, 2018.

These payments will cost $1.8 million from university reserves.

Retaining faculty and staff

The budget for fiscal year 2019 includes $276,818 for faculty promotions and the Professor Salary Incentive Program (PSIP). Equity increases were also awarded to 88 employees using existing funds within their administrative unit or academic department. It does not include an across-the-board raise. I know this is disappointing. I am disappointed, too.

While the budgets for fiscal year 2018 and 2019 have not included across-the-board raises, we have prioritized compensation during my presidency. Every year we have centrally funded faculty promotions. We created the PSIP. We funded staff pools for merit and equity increases. We funded across-the-board pay raises each year through fiscal year 2017. But state budget cuts in fiscal year 2018 made pay raises impossible.

The board and I recognize the need to improve compensation for faculty and staff. We set out to fund an across-the-board pay raise in the fiscal year 2019 budget, but our efforts were stymied by state funding cuts recommended earlier this year.

The board approved the one-time retention payment outlined above to address the need to improve employee compensation. We understand this is not an acceptable substitute for an across-the-board compensation increase.

The budget passed by the legislature does not include the budget cuts recommended by the former governor. We appreciate the General Assembly’s commitment to higher education as demonstrated by the reversal of the proposed cuts.

Should we receive the funds appropriated by the legislature for fiscal year 2019, we will reconvene the Executive Budget Committee in the fall to evaluate options for an across-the-board mid-year compensation increase.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for Dec. 6, 2016

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Clif's Notes

In this issue, I provide information about changes in the implementation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Seal in front of CarringtonBackground information

On Nov. 22, a federal judge issued a temporary injunction halting the new Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) rule that was scheduled to go into effect Dec. 1. This action was a surprise to most parties tracking this issue, given the late date and the impact on the process for so many entities. It has created significant regulatory uncertainty across the country.

On Dec. 1, the Department of Labor (DOL) notified the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas that it plans to file an appeal with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the District Court’s temporary injunction.

The possible outcomes of the temporary injunction range from the court of appeals siding with the DOL, to possible changes to the new rule at some future time, to the new rule never being instituted. With a new administration taking office on Jan. 20, 2017, it is very difficult to predict the final outcome.

Carrington HallDecision moving forward

University leadership consulted with many universities, local entities and others to determine logical steps to take as we move forward in this uncertain environment. Some had implemented their plans as early as October and continue to move forward, many have placed a hold on implementation and others have decided to implement a hybrid version of their original plan.

Based on this input and internal considerations, the university has decided to suspend implementation of a portion of FLSA-related changes until resolution of this issue becomes clear.

Fall sceneDetails for employees returning to exempt status

Employees who were reclassified as “professional non-exempt” and began tracking hours worked as of Nov. 16, will return to “exempt” status effective Nov. 16. As a result:

  • You will not need to submit a timesheet for Nov. 16-Dec. 15.
  • You will need to resume completing a monthly leave report; these may not be immediately available.
  • You will need to complete a leave report for Nov. 16-30 by Dec. 15.

How to report leave taken Nov. 16-30

Employees who received an increase in salary effective Dec. 1 will retain those raises.

Employees returning to exempt status will receive a communication this week from human resources explaining these changes in more detail.

University leadership will continue to monitor the situation as it unfolds, and will communicate any resulting changes.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for Oct. 4, 2016

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Clif's Notes

Last Friday, Missouri State employees who are affected by the latest rule of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) met with their supervisors to discuss resulting changes to their employment category. This change does not adversely reflect the value of the work of those transitioning to non-exempt classification or their importance to the university.

FLSA update

Early morning at Carrington Hall

It’s estimated that over 4 million employees across the U.S. will be affected by this change. It’s not just Missouri State. It affects all universities, businesses, government positions, etc. across the U.S.

We‘ve had a team working on the FLSA transition since the final rule was announced in May. The goal was to develop a compliance plan that treated affected employees with respect and minimized the impact on leave and compensation.

We feel we have accomplished this:

  • A total of 184 employees will transition from salaried to hourly and, regretfully, one employee will be separated from the university effective Jan. 1.
  • A total of 66 employees received salary increases to retain salaried status.
  • Vacation and salaries were not reduced for affected employees.
  • A professional non-exempt category was created to distinguish the professional nature of these positions and to ensure the position retains leave benefits that are appealing to future employees.

Lee National Denim Day

Missouri State University breast cancer survivors
Missouri State University breast cancer survivors

I’m not sure where you will be Wednesday 11 a.m.-1 p.m. I am going to be serving lunch at the Lee National Denim Day luncheon. Please join us in raising money and awareness to find a cure for breast cancer. Proceeds go to the American Cancer Society.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!