Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the DLA Compensation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Legislative Council approves one-time DLA pay adjustments and aligns hiring with standard staff pay policy
Summary
The council approved removing a special 75% hiring-cap for district legislative aides (DLAs), aligning DLA hiring with Policy 20 for legislative staff, and authorized a time-limited petition process for one-time salary adjustments for current DLAs.
The Legislative Council voted to align district legislative aide hiring with the legislature’s standard classification-and-compensation policy and to authorize a one-time petition process to adjust current DLA salaries based on experience, education and specialized skills.
Shauna explained the proposal: policy 27 currently limited DLA hires to no more than 75% of the pay band. “The proposal that is, before, council today is really twofold,” she said, describing (1) removal of the special 75% cap so new DLA hires follow Policy 20 like other legislative staff, and (2) a short, one-time petition window for legislators to submit resume-based petitions to LCS Human Resources to request equitable upward adjustments for existing DLAs.
Under the proposal, hiring managers would continue to follow the existing pay-band rules; exceptions above 75% would require higher-level approval under Policy 20. Shauna said HR and a management team would review petition materials (resumes, job duties, performance statements and a proposed increased salary) holistically and recommend equitable tiers; implementation of any approved adjustments could begin Jan. 17, with petitions received after Dec. 15 processed for a March 14, 2026 implementation if needed.
Members asked who would make final decisions and worried about fairness (rewarding the right skills for the DLA job rather than unrelated credentials). Senator Duhigg and others pressed for objective criteria and suggested leadership or HR sign-off; Shauna proposed LCS HR and management take an initial pass and that council or leadership could provide final authorization if the body directs.
The council voted to adopt the working-group recommendation. Council members also asked for clarity about budget impacts; Shauna said the proposed adjustments can be accommodated within the current district office program budget.
What happens next: LCS Human Resources will collect petitions within the window described, perform a holistic review, and present recommended adjustments and an implementation schedule to council leadership.
