258 Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofi t Organizationsuntil an aggregate total is derived. The total points are then compared to
a chart, and the position is assigned to a grade.
A problem with this job evaluation system is that the duties and respon-
sibilities of a specifi c job do not always neatly fi t into one grade or job class.
The GS has been criticized for its lack of fl exibility in supporting individual
agency missions, structures, and cultures and for its inability to respond to
rapidly changing external conditions. As a result, some federal agencies have
received permission to modify the GS by reducing the number of occupa-
tional categories and permitting agencies to establish broadbanding systems
(Thompson, 2007). (Broadbanding is described later in this chapter.)Employee Equity
Employee equity is the comparison of pay across employees performing
the same or similar work. It focuses on the contributions of an individual
worker within a job classifi cation. At issue is what coworkers performing
the same job are paid. Are differences in levels of profi ciency or contribu-
tion refl ected in compensation?
Most compensation structures include pay ranges. A pay range exists
when one or more rates are paid to employees in the same job. The range
permits organizations to pay different wages for differences in experience
or differences in performance. A pay range reflects the minimum and
maximum that the employer will pay for the position.
Table 9.1 presents the General Salary Pay Scale for federal employees.
Each grade has ten pay - level increments. New college graduates usually
begin at the base pay for the grade, but the Offi ce of Personnel Manage-
ment may authorize recruitment at rates above the minimum for jobs in
which there are shortages, such as engineers, chemists, and architects.
Pay grades and pay ranges for a city - county library district are pre-
sented in Table 9.2. Each of the fourteen pay grades in this salary schedule
has six pay - level increments. Employees move up to the next highest level on
the anniversary of their employment. After six years, they have reached the
top of the salary grade, or “ maxed out. ” Employees at the top of the salary
grade can expect to receive only cost - of - living increases in the future.
To design pay ranges, the employer needs to establish the current mar-
ket rates for benchmark jobs. After the data have been compiled, organiza-
tions develop salary ranges to fi t their structure. Each salary range should
have a midpoint, a minimum, and a maximum. The distance separating
a grade ’ s minimum and maximum salaries is called the grade ’ s range. The
midpoint for each range is usually set to correspond to the external labor