The union representing state workers has reached an agreement with the Mills administration to settle a labor practices complaint.
Under the agreement, the state will retain a third-party consultant to conduct a study analyzing the compensation and classification of state employees. The consultant will produce a report by the end of next year, and then both parties will go into bargaining over the findings, said union president Mark Brunton.
"The classification system that is used for state positions has been in place since the early 1970s and was supposed to be updated every 10 years," Brunton said. "We believe that that work has not been adequately done in keeping the system up to date."
State employees will also get a one-time payment of $2,000 next month.
In February, MSEA-SEIU Local 1989 filed the complaint, arguing the state violated its labor agreement and state law when it failed to complete a classification study.
The state needs to adjust compensation of employees to address the pay gap between private and public workers, Brunton said.
"Well, there really needs to be an overhaul of the classification system and a reform and this process, we believe, will go a long way to accomplishing that goal, bringing state positions up to competitiveness in the labor market," he said.
