Change in Arizona Minimum Wage – January 23, 2012

As announced last November, the Arizona minimum wage will increase 30 cents per hour, from $7.35 per hour to $7.65 per hour in January 2012. The University of Arizona is not required to comply with the state's minimum wage law; however, we have made the decision to increase our minimum pay rate to align with the 2012 Arizona minimum wage, which will be effective on Monday, January 23, 2012. Please consider this change when hiring Student Group A workers, and any of the affected Classified Staff job titles identified below.

Effective January 23, 2012

1. Classified Staff job titles with a pay grade 11 will be moved to a pay grade 12 and the pay range minimum for pay grade 12 will be adjusted from $7.50 per hour to $7.65 per hour to comply with the new minimum. Affected job titles are Athletic Facilities Attendant, Concessions Worker, Event Attendant, High School Student, High School Student Food Service, and Tutor.
2. The Classified Staff job title of Event Attendant-Senior will move from pay grade 12 to pay grade 13.
3. The pay range minimum for Student Group A will be adjusted 30 cents per hour from $7.35 per hour to $7.65 per hour.

Any necessary pay rate adjustments to $7.65 per hour for affected employees and student workers will be administered centrally. These adjustments will be effective January 23, 2012 and will appear in the February 10 paycheck. Departments are encouraged to review their staffing plans to assess any impact of the increased cost, including ERE, on department operations.

A special dashboard is now available in UAccess Analytics. (Employee> Compensation> Arizona State Minimum Wage) On or around January 27, a separate dashboard will reflect the changes that were processed in that payroll cycle.

We are currently evaluating options to deal with salary compression issues and will provide additional information related to our recommendations in the coming weeks.

Questions regarding the minimum wage may be directed to Linda Charlip in Human Resources, at 520-626-7651 or charlip@email.arizona.edu.