City Council approves DWP raises, including sharp pay hikes for some workers
The City Council on Thursday approved raises and a new salary structure for some employees at the Department of Welfare. It voted to hire 11 new workers to boost staffing at DWP, reduce its workweek to 40 hours and expand its workweek to 48 hours. It also voted to authorize some DWP employees to take pay raises while others will face a $1,000 salary reduction.
The new structure includes:
• A 7 percent pay raise for some non-exempt employees at the Department of Welfare, which is part of the city’s Human Services department. Employees who are exempt from the pay raise can also apply the raise to their own pension benefits.
• A new salary schedule for non-exempt employees at the Department of Welfare. Workers who work more hours will get a pay increase of at least $13.25 per hour, an increase of about 5.5 percent. Their salary will also increase to $68,811, a salary that’s about $9,000 more than before.
• An average 15 percent increase in pay that all other non-exempt employees will receive.
• The city will authorize an 8 percent raise for some workers at the Department of Welfare who currently have hourly rates below $12. Some workers will receive pay raises as large as an extra $26,500.
• The city will authorize a 1 percent pay increase for the equivalent of 1,500 hours of overtime. Some employees who work more than 40 hours per week will get a pay increase of up to $18,000.
• The City Council approved the salary reduction for the equivalent of 1,500 hours of overtime and the salary freeze for those who work more than 40 hours per week.
• The city will authorize two layoffs and a voluntary furlough for some employees at the Department of Welfare effective through June 30.
• The city will approve pay raises for all non-exempt department employees based on job performance, effective Jan. 1.
• The city will approve pay increases for two employees from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development that total more than $10,000 (each) or an amount equal to one hour per week of extra pay for each employee.
