Position Classification Act Administration
State Auditor’s Office Responsibilities and Classified Salary Rates
State Auditor’s Office Responsibilities
The State Auditor’s office (SAO) is responsible for maintaining and updating the plan as well as ensuring compliance with the plan. SAO notifies the Governor, the Comptroller, the Legislative Audit Committee and the chief executive of an agency when a classification compliance audit reveals inconsistencies with the plan or the prescribed salary ranges.
If the SAO finds an inconsistency with the plan, the chief executive is allowed a reasonable opportunity to resolve the problem by reclassifying the employee to a position title (job class) consistent with the work performed, changing the employee’s duties to conform to the assigned class, or obtaining a new class description of work and salary range.
Classified Salary Rates
Article IX of the General Appropriations Act (GAA) regulates how the state classifies and pays its employees. It also provides information on the position classification plan, including the established salary schedules. The position classification plan assigns covered positions to one of three different schedules: Salary Schedule A, B or C.
The GAA includes a chart of all classified positions for the associated biennium; an A, B or C in the Salary Group column indicates the salary schedule for the position. The numbers listed after the A, B or C specify the salary group for that position. Each schedule is divided into multiple salary groups, with salary ranges further defining the groups. The salary ranges indicate the minimum and maximum salary that can be paid for positions assigned to a certain salary group. See the salary schedules at the SAO.
Agencies are responsible for determining appropriate salary rates at the time an employee is hired. An employee’s education, experience, training, skills and abilities, as well as the agency’s budget, all play a role in determining the salary level at which to hire an employee. Of course, the agency must also adhere to the guidelines in the GAA relating to the minimum and maximum salary for the employee’s position.
To hire someone to fill a vacant position, an agency must follow the guidelines for the position’s job classification. For example, a maintenance specialist II can be found in Article IX of the GAA under job classification 9042 with a pay group A12. The salary schedule shows that an employee in this position must be paid at least $2,570.00 per month, but not more than $3,899.83 per month. Using the salary range for the position along with information about the agency budget and the employee's education, experience, etc., the agency can determine the appropriate salary.
Sources
Texas Government Code, Sections 654.002, 654.011, 654.012, 654.0125, 654.014, 654.038; General Appropriations Act, Article IX.