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Civil Service OKs $4'$5 hourly premiums for DOTD design engineers amid reorg debate
Summary
The Commission approved premium pay for certain DOTD design engineers (road and bridge design) to help recruitment: $5/hour for Engineer 6 and $4/hour for Engineer 6 DCL. Commissioners urged DOTD to pursue structural reforms and follow-up studies to address retention and management concerns.
The Louisiana Civil Service Commission on April 2 approved a premium-pay request from the Department of Transportation and Development to provide retention incentives for select road- and bridge-design engineers.
Staff said DOTD has difficulty recruiting internal candidates for Section 24 (road design) and Section 25 (bridge design); the proposal adds a $5-per-hour premium for Engineer 6 and $4-per-hour for an Engineer 6 DCL (a dual-career-ladder designation). The staff noted the premium is limited to those specified design sections rather than all engineers.
Commissioner Hughes and other commissioners discussed broader workforce and management issues at DOTD after reviewing a consultant strategic-improvement plan. Hughes said he supported the $5/hour premium but said the department likely also needs reorganization and management changes to address systemic retention issues.
After discussion and clarification from staff, a motion to approve the premium pay passed with no objections.
Why it matters: commissioners framed the premium as a targeted, short-term tool to stabilize staffing in specialized technical design roles while urging DOTD leadership to return with proposals addressing organizational structure and longer-term workforce strategy. The director indicated the department has been working with DOTD on potential reorganization and that additional requests could follow.
