Omaha Administrative Specialist Prevails in Pay Rate Grievance

NAPE/AFSCME member Tammy Pedrick has worked for the State of Nebraska for more than fifteen years. In June, based on her skills and experience, Tammy was promoted to the position of Administrative Specialist. When she received her first paycheck after her promotion, Tammy noticed that her rate of pay was incorrect. In fact, Tammy was being paid below the minimum rate for her job classification, and she had not received her step increase for her satisfactory performance the year prior. As a union member, Tammy has direct access to our professional field staff and reached out about her paycheck right away. 

Tammy was promoted in June, and should have had her pay increased in accordance with the promotion formula in our contract or to the classification minimum, whichever was higher. In Tammy’s case, the new minimum salary was higher. On July 1, 2022, Tammy was entitled to an additional 2% raise to the base salary of the Administrative Specialist classification, and a step increase based on her satisfactory 2021 performance evaluation at DHHS. Our field services team quickly filed a grievance on behalf of Tammy arguing her pay needed to be adjusted in accordance with the contract. 

Tammy prevailed in her grievance, her salary was corrected, and the agency retroactively compensated Tammy for all of her hours worked at the incorrect pay rate. Tammy did the right thing by contacting NAPE right away when she received her paycheck. If you or a coworker believe our contract has been violated, or if you’re being paid at an incorrect rate, please contact us right away for assistance.