774 Government Employees To See Bigger Paychecks Thursday, Among Them Teachers And Firefighters

Just under 800 Virgin Islands government employees are expected to see salary increases in this week’s paycheck, the Division of Personnel has reported.

According to a Government House release, Governor Kenneth  Mapp told Senate President Myron Jackson on Friday that raises had been processed for about 700 employees as a result of the executive orders signed last month. The governor’s directives increased the public sector minimum wage to $13 per hour and raise base salaries of teachers, social workers and other vital government workers to help the territory to retain and recruit a robust workforce. The Division of Personnel reported that, as of Monday afternoon, adjustments to 74 more Notice of Personnel Action (NOPA) documents had been completed, bringing the total number of employees to receive a larger paycheck this week to 774.

“We are continuing to process NOPAs daily and all affected employees will receive wage increases retroactive to August 1, 2018,” the governor stated.

Personnel Director Milton Potter said that just under 2,000 current employees are positively impacted by the governor’s recent executive orders and that employees from multiple agencies can look forward to a bigger paycheck on Thursday.

“However, so far we have processed the most raises for Education Department employees and firefighters,” the Personnel director noted.

Mr. Potter said many more Virgin Islanders eligible for raises will receive them next month when the paperwork is completed, according to Government House.

“We have urged agency heads to make the preparation process priority number one so that there is no significant delay in employees seeing their salary increases,” he said. “The governor has directed us to update these NOPAs as quickly as we can as many of these employees have waited far too long already.”

Mr. Mapp noted that the minimum wage for public sector employees had not been increased in over a decade, while a law was passed in 2016 implemented a more than $3 hourly increase for private sector workers. The new executive order increases the minimum wage for government workers to $13 per hour or $27,040 annually. Personnel has identified a total of 1,217 employees who will be impacted by the $27,040 minimum wage, with over 700 more positively impacted by the new starting base salaries.

“It is about providing a living wage for all workers in the Virgin Islands,” the governor has said. “The Mapp-Potter Administration has remained committed to raising salaries and creating new jobs and economic opportunities in both the public and private sectors.”

In 2016, the territory’s leader granted more 3,000 public employees raises averaging about $5,000 each. Earlier this year, the Governor announced that the minimum salary for police officers had been increased to $40,900.

In addition to raising the minimum wage for government workers, last month’s executive orders also established new starting base salaries to attract and retain teachers, firefighters, corrections officers, emergency medical technicians, environmental officers, police officers, enforcement officers, social workers, Head Start teachers and other critical Executive Branch employees. Those making more than the new base salaries will have their wages addressed at the bargaining table and meetings with union leaders are presently underway.