1707 - Hiring Above Minimum (HAM) (Historical View)

Status: Active

Change Notes

Policy Created.

Category

Compensation

Audience List

• Personnel Officers
• Personnel Transactions Supervisors

Synopsis

This policy

• Describes standards that apply to recruiting new employees above the minimum salary rate of a classification for a person who has extraordinary qualifications.
• Provides guidance on hiring current state employees, legislative employees, and former exempt employees for a rate above the minimum salary of a classification.
• Describes specific documentation requirements to qualify for a rate above the minimum salary of a classification.

Introduction

The Hiring Above Minimum (HAM) procedure allows payment above the minimum rate in the salary range of a classification in order to hire a person who has extraordinary qualifications. The Department of Human Resources (CalHR) provides policy and guidance to departments regarding HAMs.

Statement

Government Code section19836 authorizes CalHR to allow payments above the minimum rate in the salary range of a classification in order to hire persons who have extraordinary qualifications. A HAM salary rate must be requested and approved prior to the candidate accepting employment. Departments are delegated to approve exceptions to HAM criteria for extraordinary qualifications that do not meet the HAM criteria for extraordinary qualifications without review/approval by CalHR’s Personnel Services Branch, for all employees new to state service.

The ability to offer a competitive salary above-the-minimum salary rate of a class allows the employer to obtain the services of extraordinarily qualified employees. Department personnel applying these standards should try to strike a balance between the need to hire highly qualified individuals and the need to keep the cost to the state as low as possible.

Standards

Prior to approving a HAM request under delegated authority for extraordinary qualifications, the request should be reviewed against the following standards:

1.       Contribution to the Agency

Persons with extraordinary qualifications should contribute to the work of the department significantly beyond that which other applicants offer.

a.       Extraordinary qualifications may provide expertise in a particular area of a department's program. This expertise should be well beyond the normal requirements of the class.

b.       Unique talent, ability, or skill as demonstrated by previous job experience may also constitute extraordinary qualifications. The scope and depth of such experience should be more significant than its length.

c.       The degree to which a candidate exceeds minimum qualifications should be a guiding factor, rather than a determining one. When a number of candidates offer considerably more qualifications than the minimum, it may not be necessary to pay above the minimum to acquire unusually well-qualified people.

d.       The qualifications and hiring rates of state employees already in the same class should be carefully considered, since questions of salary equity may arise if new higher entry rates differ from previous ones.

2.       Recruitment Difficulty

Recruitment difficulty is a factor to the extent that a specific extraordinary skill should be difficult to recruit, even though some applicants are qualified in the general skills of the class.

3.       Current Salary and Other Job Offers

In all cases, the prospective candidate’s current salary or other bona fide salary offers should be above the minimum rate. Current salary or other bona fide offers should be verified and appropriately documented. Current salary should have duration of at least one year.

It should be noted that current salary and/or most recent salary may not be appropriate justification for a HAM if recruitment difficulty does not currently exist for the class. For example, in a suppressed occupational area where candidates are unemployed or are facing layoff or relocation and would be willing to accept less than their current or most recent salary, a HAM may not be necessary. If a competing offer is used as justification for a HAM, the competing offer should be verified. Guidelines on the definition of current salary are as follows:

• Generally, current salary is the actual monthly salary a candidate is receiving which has been consistent for a duration of 12 months. However, salary considerations may include a recent salary amount, differing from the actual current salary, or possibly a salary from a different employer. Salary considerations may also include an upcoming salary increase for the candidate.

• The individual’s monthly salary (or highest bona fide job offer) is compared to the state’s pay ranges in determining the maximum amount which a department may authorize. Money earned through part-time or outside employment, which is in addition to regular full-time employment, can be counted in determining the above-the-minimum rate only when the individual would lose this income in coming to work for the department.

• If the proposed candidate is currently unemployed, the consideration of the candidate’s current or most recent salary is not applicable unless there is a competing job offer. All requests for exceptions to this factor should be submitted to CalHR. (Delegated HAM authority does not apply.)

• In a suppressed occupational area where candidates are unemployed or are facing layoff or relocation, consideration of the candidate’s current or most recent salary is unnecessary.

• Competing offers from other state agencies should not be used as justification for offering a HAM rate.

4.        Prior State Employment

Prospective employees with prior state service should be evaluated in the same manner as other applicants. However, to qualify for a higher rate of pay than they received in prior state employment, they should clearly have enhanced their qualifications above those they possessed in the prior state employment.

Current State Employees

Appointing authorities may request HAMs for state employees with extraordinary qualifications under certain circumstances as outlined below:

1. There should be a verifiable competing offer from another prospective non-state employer.

2. A promotional relationship should not exist between the employee's current class and the prospective class.

3. Hires made under these standards should represent a career change for the individual.

4. It is typically necessary to offer an extraordinary HAM to recruit candidates for the class.

Departments must obtain approval from CalHR in all cases. Delegated HAM authority does not apply to current state employees.

Former Legislative Employees

Appointing authorities may request/approve HAMs for former legislative employees who are appointed to a civil service class and received eligibility for appointment pursuant to Government Code Section 18990. The salary received upon appointment to civil service shall be in accordance with the salary rules specified in the California Code of Regulations. A salary determination is completed comparing the maximum salary rate of the former legislative class and the maximum salary rate of the civil service class to determine applicable salary and anniversary regulation. Typically, legislative employees are compensated at a higher rate of pay; therefore, they will be allowed to retain the rate they last received, not to exceed the maximum of the civil service class.

Former Exempt Employees

Appointing authorities may request/approve HAMs for former exempt employees appointed to a civil service class. The salary received upon appointment to civil service shall be competitive with their salary in the exempt appointment. For example: An employee appointed to a civil service class which is preceded by an exempt appointment may be appointed at a salary rate comparable to the exempt appointment up to the maximum of the salary range for the civil service class.

HAM Plus Rate

The HAM plus rate applies to authorized classifications which are located in defined geographical areas and are granted for recruitment difficulty. See Section 5, Hiring-Above-Minimum Authorization, of the Pay Scales for salary “plus” adjustment procedures.

Delegated HAM authority does not apply to this type of HAM.

Documentation

Departments with delegation should document the basis for each HAM request as stated in the criteria, and retain the documentation for review. Documentation should include:

• HAM for Extraordinary Qualifications Documentation (either DPA-684, DPA-685, for former exempt employees, or DPA-686, for former legislative employees, as appropriate).
• The individual’s current signed and dated employment application (STD 678).
• A copy of a current earnings statement. If self-employed, departments must include a W-2 statement or documentation of income taxes of the prior year.

HAM requests that do not meet the standards outlined in this section must be submitted to CalHR for approval. Send HAM requests to the Personnel Services Branch at CalHR at psb@calhr.ca.gov. All requests sent to CalHR should include a memorandum requesting the HAM, the individual’s signed and dated employment application (STD 678), and a copy of a current earnings statement.

Application

Authorities

• Government Code section 18990
• Government Code section 19836

Resources

Forms

• DPA-684: Hire Above Minimum
• DPA-685: HAM - Former Exempt Employee
• DPA-686: HAM - Former Legislative Employee
• STD 678 : Employment application

PML

• PML 2010-005: PML 2010-005 - 2/8/2010 - Hiring Above Minimum Standards for Extraordinary Qualifications

Web Pages

• Classification and Pay Guide: Classification and Pay Guide

Authorized By

Contact Person

Personnel Services Branch
Personnel Program Consultant, , Personnel Services Branch
Phone: 916-323-3343
Fax: 916-327-1886
Email: psb@calhr.ca.gov

Superseded Policies