Haslam withdraws effort to end bonuses for existing workers
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Republican Gov. Bill Haslam is withdrawing his effort to remove longevity bonuses for existing state employees after running into staunch opposition in the Legislature.
As part of his late-session budget amendment introduced on Tuesday, Haslam now only wants to apply the change to new workers hired by the state.
State employees currently qualify for an annual bonus of $100 for each year of service, up to a maximum of $3,000.
Haslam had originally sought to fold the bonuses into state workers’ salaries and halt future increases. The governor had planned to use the savings to fund merit raises based on employee evaluations.
By making the change, the pool of money for merit raises would shrink from $48 million to $32 million.
