Compensation and Annual Employee Increases

Employee Raises: What is CEC?

The Idaho State Legislature is responsible for the distribution of public funds, in coordination with the Division of Financial Management (DFM) and Division of Human Resources (DHR). Each year, the legislature votes to:

• Determine whether State of Idaho employees will receive pay raises
• Define guidelines and structure as to how those raises will be implemented
• Direct appropriated funding to state agencies and institutions for implementation

The State of Idaho refers to these compensation adjustments as the Change in Employee Compensation, or CEC.

Once legislation is approved, the State of Idaho Division of Human Resources (DHR) and Division of Financial Management (DFM) develop CEC implementation guidance for state agencies and institutions to distribute state appropriated funding. From there, ISU leadership prepares an annual distribution plan to maximize compensation goals and drivers based upon legislative requirements, implementation guidance from DHR/DFM, and available appropriated and institutional funding.

For Fiscal Year 2026 (FY2026), the Legislature appropriated funding for change in employee compensation to be distributed based on merit for eligible employees at the equivalent increase of $1.05 to $1.55 per hour prorated based upon hours worked. In addition, ISU is implementing modest changes to minimum rates of pay based on DHR salary structure shift, while working within ISU’s available fiscal resources. 

The FY2026 Idaho State University Annual Compensation Plan includes the components outlined below:

• Merit-based increase between $1.05 and $1.55 per hour, applied to base salaries equivalent to contracted hours worked
• Following the merit-based increase, pay structure shift and minimum rates of pay
• Pay structure shift of ISU Classified pay grades and minimum rate of pay increase from $15.00/hour to $15.75/hour
• Adjustment to Non-Classified minimum annual salary from $47,325 to $49,750 based on the FY2026 increase to DHR Classified pay grade K minimum as required by State code

• Academic promotion/advancement in rank for applicable Faculty

NOTE: To be eligible for a performance-based CEC increase, the State of Idaho DHR requires that employees must have an annual performance evaluation on file and have completed their required 2025 Respectful Workplace and 2025 Cyber Security training.