Pay raise cap
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Pay raise cap
I am a non-union, non-certified employee in a school district. My rate of pay is hourly; I make $12.63 an hour. We had to provide our educational background I have only 84 credit hours. I am listed as a paraprofessional, I was an instructional aid, last year but they moved me to the library as an assistant. Based on this criteria, I should have been bumped up to $13.50 an hour for a instructional aid. However, they have not moved me into a different category even though my position has changed. They told me that state law does not permit them to raise my hourly rate more than 6%, which would be the $13.50 rate that I am entitled to and the number of years that I have worked in the district, which is 14 years but 21 years working in schools. They are only giving me a 5.9% raise because of the cap. Can they do that? My hourly rate would be at $13.38. I am retiring soon and my retirement is based on my rate of pay. I know it is only a few cents but I would love to be justifiably compensated. We as paraprofessional only make 1/4 what a teacher earns even though we are required to have at least 2 years of college and be licensed. I am 71 years old and this won’t benefit me, however working with students with numerous challenges should be justly compensated.
Asked on September 8, 2018 under Employment Labor Law, Illinois
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
If you don't have a contract, including a union agreement, which guarantees or specifies a certain raise, you only get the raise your employer wants to give you: raises are not mandatory, and are completely discretionary on the employee's part except when guaranteed them by a contract. So regardless of the reason they gave you, without a contract specifying the raise to which you are entitled, they may limit your raise to anything they like--and did not have to give you a raise at all.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.