HR Extras

States make progress on longitudinal data systems; Texas lacks one essential element

The Austin-based Data Quality Campaign (DQC)  says states have made strides in putting data systems in place to track student performance and all are on track to complete the job by 2011.

DQC has identified 10 essential elements of high-quality longitudinal data systems. As of November 2009, 11 states had all 10 elements in place, up from six states in 2008. Thirty-one states have put eight or more elements in place. DQC highlights the progress of all the states including Texas  and shows that the state’s data system lacks one essential element: a teacher identifier system with the ability to match teachers to students.

Many states now have the ability to answer key questions, such as which schools produce the strongest academic growth for their students: 44 states now collect this data, up from 21 in 2005. Also, 47 states now report having the necessary elements to calculate a longitudinal graduation rate, according to the calculation agreed to in the 2005 National Governors Association compact (up from 14 states in 2005). In terms of teacher quality, 21 states now have elements in place to measure which teacher preparation programs produce the graduates whose students have the strongest academic growth (up from five in 2005).

The 10 essential elements and the number of states that reported having that element in place are as follows:

*The District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are included.

Another round of FMLA changes expands coverage; DOL form revisions to come

The latest changes to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) expand military caregiver leave and coverage of family leave for a qualifying exigency.

As of Oct. 28, 2009, when service members of the Regular Armed Forces, Reserves, National Guard, or Retired Regular Armed Forces or Reserves are deployed to a foreign country, members of their family are eligible for qualifying exigency leave. Previously, only family members of the National Guard and reservists called to active duty in support of a contingency operation were eligible for exigency leave (deployment to a foreign country was not required).

The amendment also extends the 26 weeks of military caregiver leave to family members of veterans with an illness or injury that occurred while a service member was on active duty and manifests itself either before or after he or she became a veteran. To be eligible, the veteran must have been on active duty at some time in the five years preceding the need for treatment, recuperation, or therapy.

The U.S. Department of Labor has not yet revised its FMLA forms or required postings to incorporate the changes. As soon as they are published, HR Services will update our HR Library forms and federal work-site poster and notify members.

Disgruntled workers more likely to leave than share their concerns with boss

A new survey indicates that almost half of employees feel unsatisfied and under recognized at work and are ready to jump ship as soon as the economy improves. An additional 19 percent of employees plan to stay with their employer but aren’t engaged and will do what they’re told to do but no more.

Unfortunately for employers, that’s not the all the bad news: unhappy employees are not likely to share their discontent with their boss. According to the 2009 Pulse of the Workforce Survey  by Development Dimensions International (DDI), 42 percent of employees have never initiated a conversation with their boss about their role or future with the organization. An additional thirty-three percent have started such a conversation just one to three times.

Employers may be able to avoid an exodus and reengage employees by stepping up their communication efforts, recognizing employees for their work, and providing new challenges and other professional development opportunities where possible. 

Abbott: ex-trustees can work in district with no delay if employed by third party

Former school trustees are not barred from working for a third party employer that provides service to their school districts within a year of leaving the board, according to Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.

Education Code section 11.063 provides that a school district trustee may not accept employment with the district until the first anniversary of the date the trustee’s board service ended. The commissioner of education asked for an opinion on the application of the statute to a former Red Oak ISD trustee who resigned from the board and went to work for a third-party contractor that serves the district.

Abbott concluded that the court would consider relevant facts including contract terms, control and supervision, and source of payment to determine whether the school district or the third party was the actual employer. If the court concludes that the trustee works for the third party, the trustee’s employment would not be subject to the restrictions set out in the education code.

U.S. employees to see lowest pay increases in a decade in 2010

U.S. employers are planning to provide employees with the lowest median pay increase in a decade in 2010. Employees can expect an average raise of 2.5 percent.

According to the Hay Group’s 2010 Salary Budget Spot Survey, the planned salary increase is actually one-half of 1 percent lower than what employers projected in a similar study in July 2009. “The market is still tempering its outlook for 2010…about a quarter of organizations decreased their salary budget increase estimates in the last four months,” said Mel Stark, vice president in the reward practice at Hay Group.

The planned increases lag those provided in recent years but will be larger than the 1.9 percent average salary increases that employees actually received in 2009. “The improved outlook for salary increases is due to both a more positive economic outlook as well as a feeling by management that it is difficult to provide nominal increases to organization workforces who have been asked to do more with less during difficult times,” Stark said.

Small pay increase budgets mean marginal increases for top performers, making retention of the best and brightest employees a bigger challenge. “Recruiters are getting more active and there is always a market for top talent—even in the toughest business environments,” Stark said.

Fewer employers to freeze salaries; education jobs may be the exception

Following 18 months of cost cutting that led to workforce reductions and salary freezes, an improving economy will result in fewer employers freezing salaries in 2010, according to Mercer’s 2009/2010 US Compensation Planning Survey Update. Challenging economic conditions resulted in 30 percent of employers freezing salaries across the board in 2009. Just 14 percent plan to freeze salaries this year.

Mercer’s survey also projects pay increases of 2.7 percent, less optimistic than the 3.2 percent increases employers planned in 2009. Pay increases will vary by industry, too. The consumer goods and high tech industries plan the largest pay increases (3 percent).

The outlook for educators is not as optimistic. Thirty percent of education employers surveyed project a salary freeze this year. Also, education is among the fields that will offer lower-than-average pay increases in 2010—an estimated 2.2 percent—down from an actual 3.2 percent in 2009.