The Daily Bulletin

During negotiations for the 2016–2022 Agreement between the State of New York and United University Professions (UUP), the parties agreed to develop guidelines and a methodology for a salary equity study to be conducted at each campus. The purpose of the study is to identify compression and inversion for UUP-represented employees. Salary inversion may exist when new employees are hired at salaries higher than experienced employees; compression may exist when salaries of experienced employees fail to maintain distance above salaries of new employees.

An executive-level committee made up of representatives from New York State, SUNY, and UUP developed guidelines and a methodology to analyze and identify the extent of salary compression and inversion, and the adopted guidelines and methodology have been used at Buffalo State College.

In addition to the 0.5 percent that was established to provide for discretionary merit-based salary increases (awardees were notified November 3, 2021), the agreement between New York State and UUP also includes using 0.5 percent of the DSI to address identified compression and inversion. I have reviewed the results of the analysis and considered them in making decisions regarding distributing discretionary salary increases. In following the negotiated guidelines, and in an effort to be transparent, a summary of specific considerations made in the distribution of the 0.5 percent dedicated to addressing identified compression and inversion is provide (PDF, 110 KB).

Employees who will receive salary increases based on the salary compression and inversion analysis will be notified via their campus e-mail addresses on Monday, November 22. Increases for both the 0.5 percent discretionary merit-based awards and the 0.5 percent based on the compression analysis will appear in paychecks dated December 22, 2021. The increases will be retroactive to July 1, 2021, for professional employees and employees with 12-month obligations, and September 1, 2021, for employees with academic-year obligations.

In accordance with SUNY guidelines, employees who receive salary compression or inversion adjustments are not disqualified from consideration for increases from the 0.5 percent discretionary merit-based pool. Conversely, receipt of a discretionary increase does not disqualify employees from eligibility for compression adjustments.

Please direct specific questions or concerns regarding the analysis completed at Buffalo State to Lydia Kawaler, manager of personnel operations, in Human Resource Management.