Civil Service Commission approves pay‑plan updates, exemptions and targeted recruitment pay boosts

The Louisiana Civil Service Commission on June 4 approved a series of classification, pay and hiring measures intended to align job titles and pay with current market conditions and to address recruitment and retention challenges across state agencies.

Heather Hebron, compensation division administrator for State Civil Service, told the commission the package in general circular 2025‑029 follows three job‑series assessments affecting compliance investigators, levy maintenance supervisors and a new State Register series. Hebron said the changes touch about 182 classified employees, create five new State Register jobs and do not add an immediate cost because incumbents’ current pay rates are at or above the proposed new minimums. Exhibit A (new jobs) requires both commission and gubernatorial approval; Exhibits B–D require only the commission. The commission authorized Exhibit D, agreed to forward Exhibit A to the governor, and approved Exhibits B and C contingent on the governor’s signature, delegating to the director the authority to set effective dates no sooner than 10 days after gubernatorial action.

Separately, commissioners approved a set of agency requests that staff said are driven by temporary needs or recruitment shortfalls. The commission granted Louisiana Department of Health requests to allow certain appointed program assistants to exceed the usual 1,245‑hour WAE cap and work up to 2,080 hours for the 2025–2026 year to support emergency and crisis counseling functions. The Department of Public Safety and Corrections received an exemption to place a medical department director at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in the unclassified service to widen the applicant pool, and the Office of Public Health received approval to exempt a chief‑engineer position due to recruitment difficulty for that technical executive role.

To address staffing shortages, the commission extended a Department of Children and Family Services premium‑pay policy for positions in the Baton Rouge and New Orleans regions through June 30, 2026. Under the extension, frontline child‑welfare specialists, supervisors and managers will continue to receive $5 per hour; certain higher‑level titles will see their premium reduced from $5 to $2.50 after six months, and new hires in those titles will not be eligible for the premium. Commissioners said the change prioritizes limited funding toward frontline caseworkers.

The commission also approved targeted special‑entrance‑rate increases proposed by the Department of Corrections for correctional officer job series at LSP and Elaine Hunt and a localized increase for probation and parole officers in the New Orleans district aimed at improving recruitment there. Staff said the probation and parole change raises the New Orleans starting SER to about $48,672 (from a current $44,421) with corresponding adjustments for incumbents.

The commission ratified director‑level approvals of special entrance rates for custodial and nursing positions at the Louisiana Special School District and accepted a director’s report that delegated premium‑pay approvals (up to $2/hour) were used between April 15 and May 15. Melinda Robert, compliance and audit administrator, presented a quarterly compliance audit of 12 agencies; most agencies were in good standing on Performance Evaluation System categories though two agencies had documentation issues. The Department of Treasury received commendation for 100% compliance.

All votes reported in the transcript carried with ‘‘no objection’’ or were passed by motion and second; no roll‑call vote tallies were recorded in the public minutes provided.

The commission adjourned to executive session for applications for review. The director will forward Exhibit A (the new‑jobs exhibit) to the governor for signature, after which staff will set implementation dates and issue further guidance to agencies.