à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã

The University’s annual salary equity review is conducted for the sole purpose of monitoring compliance with laws governing equal pay and nondiscrimination in compensation practices. In as much, an annual salary equity review is conducted to identify and address possible inequities in salaries of faculty and administrators. Salary equity review process is designed to eliminate statistically significant salary differentials that may have arisen due to discrimination.

The focus of the review examines any differences in salary that could be affected by gender or ethnicity. Adjustments made through this process are for equity only and will not address problems of merit or compression although either of these factors could justify a salary differential.

To ensure an equitable and objective review, merit increases are considered independent of this process because it only addresses inequities resulting from unjustifiable gaps in salary between similarly situated employees who differ in gender or ethnicity. By design, this process does not address salary differentials resulting from compression or other market driven factors.

Cases for review are identified by the staff from the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity (OIED) and the Macon and Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences (VHS), the Association of University Administrators, the Coalition of Black Faculty and Administrators, the Hispanic/Latino Employee Association, Asian Caucus, and the Women's Caucus. You may also self-identify. For self-identification submissions, please fill out and submit the and the required supporting statement. The statement should include a rationale supporting the belief that your salary may be adversely impacted because of gender and/or ethnicity. All supporting data and materials must accompany the requests and may be attached when using the form.

The review process begins with a pair-wise comparison as the initial stage of review. (The review period will begin during the month of February.) In short, a pair-wise comparison identifies salary differentials of at least one thousand dollars in similarly situated persons. For instructional and administrative faculty, some factors to consider when identifying similarly situated persons include, type of degree, year degree received, college, department, rank/title, year tenured, and years of experience at the University. All things being equal, similarly situated persons are expected to have similar salaries. In the event a differential is identified the salary equity process seeks to justify it or make an adjustment to correct it. If the differential can not be justified and the similarly situated persons are only different in gender or ethnicity a salary adjustment is appropriate to correct the pay inequity. Pay inequities based on gender and ethnicity are in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Pay Act.

Some factors that can justify a differential in salary between similarly situated persons are performance, retention, and compression. When available, annual merit increases are designed to reflect the performance of an employee. Retention salary adjustments can be used to retain an employee who has obtained an offer from another employer or whose absence would create a considerable financial loss for a program, department or college and ultimately the university. Finally, compression adjustments recognize changes in market value of the services of usually a long-term employee. Unlike pay inequities, retention and compression adjustments are discretionary.

When cases are forwarded for justification/recommendation, Deans and Vice Presidents will notÌýbe notified of how the request for review was initiated. Once a recommendation or justification has been provided by the Dean or Vice President, staff from OIED and VHS will review the response in light of all relevant supplemental information. On the basis of this review, OIED and VHS will request clarification and additional information to support the justification.

Funding to support any salary increments made as a part of this salary equity review process will be a part of the salary funds allocated to each unit. The Vice President, based on supported information, will determine any salary equity adjustments. The Vice President submits his/her final list of salary recommendations, with all other salary increase recommendations, to the President, who will consult with the Associate Vice President of Equity and Inclusive Excellence and the Associate Vice President of Human Resources. The President approves the Vice President's recommendations, in whole or in part, and may choose to ask for additional information and analysis. The Budget Office prepares a memorandum for the President's signature that reflect his/her final salary equity review decision.

These requests will be acted upon in a timely fashion so that any salary adjustments that result will take effect on July 1st.