Compensation Compliance

As a campus, it remains our goal to pay all employees a market-competitive and internally equitable salary with considerations of budget availability, scope and complexity of the role, and individual background and skills. In the UC System and at UC Berkeley, we rely on the UC Salary Placement Guidelines to set and adjust salaries. Given the decentralized structure of UC Berkeley, we rely on many people across our divisions, especially our division leaders (i.e., deans, vice chancellors, vice provosts, or equivalent), to ensure the consistent application of these guidelines. 

Division leaders will have full and final decision-making authority, consistent with the guidelines, with respect to (1) setting salaries for new hires, (2) approving equity increases to bring an employee up to the midpoint of the range or above the midpoint of the range for an employee whose salary is already above the salary range midpoint, (3) counter offers, and (4) administrative stipends. To exercise this authority, division leaders must identify individual(s) within their units to receive annual training from the People & Culture Compensation Team and be responsible for the application of the guidelines. We continue to encourage division leaders to seek guidance from their HR Partners who work in conjunction with the People & Culture Compensation Team. Please refer to the Salary Approval Matrix for additional information and approval guidelines.  

However, an equity increase outside of the guidelines, such as salary increases greater than 10% for an employee whose current salary is below the salary range midpoint resulting in a salary over the salary range midpoint or salary increases greater than 10% for an employee above the midpoint, need to be submitted to Compensation for approval Submit the request to Increase Exception Request. Requests submitted via this form will be emailed to salary-increase-request@berkeley.edu

If the Compensation Team does not support the proposed equity increase, approval must be obtained from the Chancellor and the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost by submitting a written request which outlines the justification for the request, including an analysis of comparable salaries and the reasons why the request was not supported by the Compensation Team. 

For positions covered under bargaining contracts

Please refer to the bargaining unit contract for specific salary-setting guidelines. Questions? Contact Employee & Labor Relations (ELR). For proposed equity increases greater than the contractually stipulated amount, submit the request to Increase Exception Request. Requests submitted via this form will be emailed to salary-increase-request@berkeley.edu

Retroactive Salary Actions

For most employees covered by this policy, the effective date of an increase must be within six months of the date the action is approved. For employees in the Managers & Senior Professionals (MSP) personnel group whose total cash compensation is greater than the Indexed Compensation Level, the effective date must be within 45 calendar days of the date the action is approved. A salary action not approved within these timeframes is considered retroactive and is an exception to policy that must be approved in accordance with the Approval Authority Matrix for Salary Actions Applicable to Staff Employees

Counter offers

Managers may make a counteroffer when an employee is offered a lateral transfer. To avoid bidding wars, the manager offering the position is limited to one salary offer, to which the employee's current manager may make one counteroffer. The employee then decides which offer to accept. The same criteria that are used for setting salaries in reclassifications and promotions will be used for determining counter offers.

The City of Berkeley minimum wage includes:  

• At least $18.67/hour beginning July 1, 2024
• At least $18.07/hour beginning July 1, 2023
• At least $16.99/hour beginning July 1, 2022
• At least $16.32/hour beginning July 1, 2021
• At least $16.07/hour beginning July 1, 2020
• At least $15.59/hour beginning July 1, 2019
• At least $15.00/hour beginning October 1, 2018

Information on Student Assistant Rates can be found here.

Note: Represented employees falling below the July 1, 2024 minimum hourly rate will be handled by Employee & Labor Relations (ELR).

An administrative stipend may be paid when a career employee is temporarily assigned the duties of a position in a higher salary grade (defined by salary range midpoint), or when other significant new projects or duties, that are not part of the employee’s regular position, are assigned for a minimum of 30 working days (six weeks) up to a maximum of 12 months in duration.

Stipends should be processed as a percentage of the employee’s monthly rate of pay.

It is the management’s responsibility to ensure that the temporary assignment does not exceed 12 months. An extension of a stipend beyond 12 months requires the approval of the Compensation department.

For contract appointment and limited appointment employees, change the contractual rate of pay and/or increase the employee’s FTE percentage.

The amount of the administrative stipend shall not exceed the amount of salary increase that could be received by an employee if she/he were to receive a permanent promotion to the higher level title, which is typically up to 15%. When recommending an administrative stipend, managers should consider potential internal equity issues.

Administrative Stipends up to 5% are recommended for:

• Employees temporarily performing higher-level duties up to 10% time;
• Work is lateral but considerably different and outside the scope of the current position and requires up to 10% additional time;
• Work is lateral but supervision of 3 or more FTE is added;

Administrative Stipends up to 10% are recommended for employees temporarily performing higher-level duties up to 20% time.

Administrative Stipends up to 15% are recommended for employees temporarily performing higher-level duties 20% or more time.

While system-wide policy allows for stipends up to 25%, stipends that exceed 15% and/or one year in duration have been previously audited by the UC Regents. Compensation strongly recommends that stipends be capped at 15%.

The sum of the individual’s salary plus the stipend cannot exceed the salary range maximum of the higher-level position.

Assignment of temporary duties at a lower level (defined by salary range midpoint) does not warrant a stipend.

Administrative Stipends should not be provided for:

• Assignment of duties at a lower level;
• Additional duties assigned to cover short periods of vacation or other leave;
• Periodic increases in volume when the nature/complexity of duties is at the same level; or,
• Providing a “training opportunity” to develop an employee’s skills and competencies to perform higher-level duties.

Consult with the Compensation Unit, as needed, for questions related to stipends. 

View the Stipend Process Flow Chart

An employee in a bargaining unit may be eligible to receive temporary pay when they are temporarily assigned substantially all of the duties of a higher classification for a portion of their time, commonly referred to as an "out-of-classification assignment". Temporary pay is typically effective the date an employee begins performing the higher level duties at a significant portion of time and they typically end when the higher level duties are no longer assigned by management.

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulates whether an employee is overtime-eligible (Non-Exempt) or overtime-exempt (Exempt). Previously, employees who are classified as overtime-exempt must earn at least $455 per week. Beginning December 1, 2016, to be exempt, the FLSA required that a staff employee satisfy the duties test and earn at least $913 per week, or $47,476 per year.

Staff appointments adhere to the FLSA salary threshold of $913/per week ($47,476/per year) until further notice.

The UC Committee on the DOL FLSA project is assessing the next steps for staff appointments. Once a decision is made it will be communicated to UC locations. For questions related to FLSA status of staff appointments, please contact compdesk@berkeley.edu

For additional information on determining FLSA status of an employee click here.

Dual appointments are rare; they are only permitted on an exception basis, provided that all the required criteria are met, including approvals coordinated through Employee Relations. For additional information related to dual appointments and the review/approval process click here

On October 12, 2017, Governor Brown signed into law Assembly Bill 168 (AB 168), which prohibits employers from inquiring into an applicant's salary history, effective January 1, 2018. The legislation is intended to address inequity in pay practices based on gender, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, gender identity, or sexual orientation. Given the University's institutional values and commitment to ensuring equal pay, the University is taking steps to align our practices with the provisions of this new law.

For additional information visit the UCOP website

Salary increase decisions for internal and external hires should be based on a predetermined targeted, or budgeted, salary. The candidate’s skills, knowledge, and experience, as well as where the proposed salary is in relation to peers of the same classification, should be further evaluated. Next, calculate the increased amount. For additional salary placement guidelines see our associated webpage.

For unit assignments, please see Control Unit Administrators Review of Classification Requests - includes Management and Senior Professional Program (MSP)

Detailed information about the classification process can be found in Chapter 3 of our Guide to Managing Human Resources, including:

• Classification Process for Non-Represented Positions
• Classification/Reclassification Evaluation Process
• Classification Movement between Academic and Staff Personnel Programs
• Multi-Location Appointments For Staff: Procedures
• Positions that do not require VC review prior to Compensation review

MSP REVIEW PROCESS
There is a separate review process for positions in the Management and Senior Professional Program (MSP).
Purpose:  Senior-level positions in the MSP Program are reviewed by the Vice Chancellors to ensure their support of the classification review, and conditionally the changes to the position and organizational structure, but not necessarily for the level requested. The Control Unit Administrator (CUA) facilitates this review with the Compensation Consultant. Their review provides campus-wide consistency in the classification of management-level positions.
Process:  The appropriate HR Partner submits all requests from the department (new and reclassifications) to the CUA and/or Compensation. For unit assignments, please see Control Unit Administrators Review of Classification Requests. If the request is for reclassification, the HR Business Partner copies compdesk@berkeley.edu

Delegations of Authority Per Revised PPSM 30 (as of April 2015)

Berkeley Internal Procedures

Procurement positions; Compensation consults with Procurement to determine the appropriate classification for the position.

Fundraising positions (Professional 4 level and above): Compensation consults with University Development and Alumni Relations to determine the appropriate classification for the position.

EH&S positions; Compensation consults with EH&S to determine the appropriate classification for the position.

Accessing Public Records
The purpose of the California Public Records Act (CPRA) is to promote “access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business is a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state.” (California Government Code Section 6250)

Accessing Your University Records
The California Information Practices Act (IPA) (California Civil Code Section 1798) codifies the right to privacy guaranteed in the California Constitution (Article I, Section 1).

Review the Public Records FAQs here.

A waiver of recruitment is an exception to the recruitment policy, allowing a specific individual with unique skills to be hired without listing the position for open recruitment and advertisement. It is preferable to list all positions through the TAM system to allow equal access and opportunities for applicants. For more information about the waiver of recruitment approval process click here.

UC payroll titles are descriptive of the work performed. However, when a more specific title would serve the unit’s operational or recruiting interests, a working or business title may be used to describe the function of the position in even greater detail or more easily recognized terms in both internal and external communications. With the exception of Associate and Assistant Vice Chancellor titles, working or business titles are determined by the department.

Business Titles should:

• Reasonably reflect the nature of the work performed

• Be distinct enough to differentiate the position

• Be consistent with other business titles where similar work is done in a classification, function, or across the unit

• For example: Financial Anl 2 as Budget Analyst

Business Titles should not:

• Duplicate a payroll title not currently associated with the position

• Misrepresent the university or the authority of a position

• Inflate or create inaccurate expectations of the position's role, scope, or authority.

• For example: Financial Anl 2 as Budget Director

Titles that do not accurately describe the core function of the position may cause misrepresentation if expectations based on the business title do not accurately reflect the real authority or autonomy of the position.

For Associate and Assistant Vice Chancellor titles, please consult the Guidelines for Using Associate and Assistant Vice Chancellor Titles.