(This is a salary study conducted by the State Board of Public Defense and released in October 1998. It compares public defender salaries to those of comparable state attorney general’s office employees. The study was cited by the public defenders in seeking and obtaining from the state legislature a $2.5 million increase in funds to increase salaries beginning July 1, 2000.)
Minnesota Board of Public Defense
SALARY STUDY
October 1998
Prepared by
Administrative Services Office,
Minnesota Board of Public Defense
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Minnesota Board of Public Defense
Salary Study
CONTENTS
A. Introduction /Our Charge 1
B. Study Methodology 2
Board of Public Defense and Comparable State Agencies 3
D. Study Recommendation 23
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Minnesota Board of Public Defense
Salary Study
A. Introduction /Our Charge
During the 1998 Legislative Session, the Minnesota Board of Public Defense was charged by the Legislature to conduct a study of the compensation levels of its employees in comparison to those of the Attorney General's Office. The purpose of the study was to present recommendations to the Chairs and ranking minority members of the Senate and House divisions having jurisdiction over criminal justice funding, regarding a procedure for Board of Public Defense employees to be paid comparably to employees in the Attorney General's Office.
This report has been prepared as a result of that study. It contains an introductory overview, a summary of the study methodology, an assessment of the current salary status of the Board of Public Defense and comparable state agencies, and study recommendations with a summary of projected salary needs for the agency.
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Minnesota Board of Public Defense
Salary Study
B. Study Methodology
The employee classes studied included attorneys, investigators, secretaries, office managers, paralegals and dispositional advisors.* All employees in the study classes were factored into the study, including part time employees. Salaries for part time employees were annualized to full time equivalents.
For each class of employee in the Attorney General's Office, an average salary was constructed based on each employee's years of experience. (For example, an average was calculated for all attorneys with one year experience). The years of experience used for attorneys was the date licensed in the State of Minnesota. The experience for all other classes of employees was the date started with the State of Minnesota, or with the public defense system.
These averages were then compared to each Board of Public Defense employee with similar experience. The minimum average is the introductory level salary for each class of employee in the Attorney General's Office. The maximum average is the average of the high salaries in the Attorney General's Office, not the top of the salary range for any of the classes of employees. From there, the averages were smoothed by filling in equal steps between the minimum and maximum salary for each class of employee. The calculations hold harmless employees whose salaries are above the average.
The salary difference for each individual Board of Public Defense employee was then summed to come up with FY1998 costs for each class of employee, and indexed at 3% to determine the equivalent projected FY 2000 and FY 2001 need.
* The class of dispositional advisor was compared to the Department of Corrections "corrections agents" class, as the Attorney General's Office has no equivalent employee class.
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Minnesota Board of Public Defense
Salary Study
C. Assessment of Current Salary Status of Board of Public Defense and Comparable State Agencies
The following summary represents a comparison of current salaries by employee class, of the Board of Public Defense and the Office of the Attorney General.* In Tables A- F, calculations were made for each employee class, averaging salaries by years of experience. The Office of the Attorney General salary averages by employee class were then smoothed, and the resultant salary averages were compared with each Board of Public Defense employee with similar experience." This comparison is further illustrated in Figure A: FY 1998 Attorney Salaries.
Tables G- R represent the actual FY 1998 salary ranges for Board of Public Defense employees by employee class.
* All employee classes compared with the Board of Public Defense classes were from the Office of the Attorney General, except for the class of dispositional advisor, which was compared to the Department of Corrections, "corrections agents" class.
* * The average salary of the top salaried 10% of attorneys in the Office of the Attorney General is $82,454. This top 10% represents 23 employees.
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Minnesota Board of Public Defense
Salary Study
TABLE A
ATTORNEY
SMOOTHED
YEARS FY
1998
LICENSED
AVERAGE
SALARY
1
$36,125
2
$37,056
3
$38,500
4
$41,382
5
$43,657
6
$47,392
7
$50,557
8
$52,485
9
$53,507
10
$55,646
11
$57,580
12
$63,960
13
$64,750
14
$65,541
15
$66,420
16
$67,299
17
$68,178
18
$69,058
19
$70,367
20
$72,788
21
$75,209
22
$75,531
23
$75,853
24
$76,175
25
$76,495
26
$79,870
Note: This table represents the smoothed averaging between the introductory level salary and the highest average salary for this employee class at the Attorney General's Office. The average salary of the top salaried 10% of attorneys in the Office of the Attorney General is $82,454. This top 10% represents 23 employees.
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Minnesota Board of Public Defense
Salary Study
TABLE B
INVESTIGATORS SMOOTHED
YEARS FY 1998
OF EXP. AVERAGE
SALARY
1 $29,680
2 $30,739
3 $31,798
4 $32,856
5 $33,915
6 $34,974
7 $36,033
8 $37,092
9 $38,150
10 $39,209
11 $40,268
12 $41,327
13 $42,386
14 $43,444
15 $44,503
16 $45,562
17 $46,621
18 $47,680
19 $48,738
20 $49,797
21 $50,856
Note: This table represents the smoothed averaging between the introductory level salary and the highest average salary for this employee class at the Attorney General's Office.
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Minnesota Board of Public Defense
Salary Study
PARALEGAL SMOOTHED
YEARS FY 1998
OF EXPERIENCE AVERAGE
SALARY
1 $27,339
2 $28,443
3 $29,548
4 $30,652
5 $31,757
6 $32,861
7 $33,965
8 $35,070
9 $36,174
10 $37,279
11 $38,383
12 $39,487
13 $40,592
14 $41,696
15 $42,801
16 $43,905
17 $45,009
18 $46,114
19 $47,218
20 $48,323
21 $49,427
Note: This table represents the smoothed averaging between the introductory level salary and the highest average salary for this employee class at the Attorney General's Office.
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Minnesota Board of Public Defense
Salary Study
TABLE D
LEGAL SECRETARY SMOOTHED
YEARS FY 1998
OF EXPERIENCE AVERAGE
SALARY
1 $24,033
2 $24,585
3 $25,138
4 $25,690
5 $26,242
6 $26,794
7 $27,347
8 $27,899
9 $28,451
10 $29,003
11 $29,556
12 $30,108
13 $30,660
14 $31,212
15 $31,765
16 $32,317
17 $32,869
18 $33,421
19 $33,974
20 $34,526
21 $35,078
Note: This table represents the smoothed averaging between the introductory level salary and the highest average salary for this employee class at the Attorney General's Office.
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Minnesota Board of Public Defense
Salary Study
TABLE E
OFFICE MANAGERS SMOOTHED
YEARS FY1998
OF EXP. AVERAGE
SALARY
1 $35,818
2 $36,343
3 $36,868
4 $37,393
5 $37,918
6 $38,443
7 $38,968
8 $39,493
9 $40,018
10 $40,543
11 $41,068
12 $41,593
13 $42,118
14 $42,643
15 $43,168
16 $43,693
17 $44,218
18 $44,743
19 $45,268
Managing Legal Secretary Position
For the Board of Public Defense
Note: This table represents the smoothed averaging between the introductory level salary and the highest average salary for this employee class at the Attorney General's Office.
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Minnesota Board of Public Defense
Salary Study
TABLE F
CORRECTIONAL OFFICER
SMOOTHED AVERAGE
YEARS OF FY 1998
EXPERIENCE SALARY
1 $31,405
2 $31,698
3 $33,464
4 $35,230
5 $35,371
6 $39,310
7 $40,579
8 $41,030
9 $41,482
10 $42,153
11 $43,424
12 $43,954
13 $44,484
14 $45,302
15 $46,121
16 $46,939
17 $47,767
18 $48,121
19 $48,485
20 $48,849
21 $49,213
22 $49,213
23 $49,213
24 $49,213
Correctional Officers in the D.O.C.
Dispositional Advisor Position with the
Board of Public Defense
Note: This table represents the smoothed averaging between the introductory level salary and the highest average salary for this employee class at the Department of Corrections.
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Minnesota Board of Public Defense
Salary Study
FIGURE A
FY 1998 ATTORNEY SALARIES
$90,000
$79,870
$80,000
$75,774
$70,000
$60,000
$50,000
$40,000
z $36,125
z
$30,000
$20,000
$10,000
$0
2
ENTRY LEVEL AND HIGH AVERAGE
M ATTORNEY GENERAL
0 BOARD OF PUBLIC DEFENSE
(Editor’s Note: This graph did not scan well, but shows entry level of 1998 attorney salaries was $32,953 for the Board of Public Defense and $36,125 for the Attorney General; high average 1998 attorney salaries were $75,774 for the Board of Public Defense and $79,870 for the Attorney General.)
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Minnesota Board of Public Defense
Salary Study
TABLE G
BOARD OF PUBLIC
DEFENSE
FY 1998 SALARY RANGES
ASST.PUBLIC DEFENDER I
STEP
ANNUAL
1 $32,953
$33,612
2 $34,284
$34,970
3 $35,669
$36,383
4 $37,110
$37,852
5 $38,610
$39,382
6 $40,169
$40,973
7 $41,792
$42,628
8 $43,481
$44,350
9 $45,237
$46,142
10 $47,065
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Minnesota Board of Public Defense
Salary Study
TABLE H
BOARD OF PUBLIC DEFENSE
FY 1998 SALARY RANGES
ASST. PUBLIC DEFENDER II
STEP
ANNUAL
1 $40,093
$40,894
2 $41,712
$42,547
3 $43,398
$44,266
4 $45,151
$46,054
5 $46,975
$47,914
6 $48,873
$49,850
7 $50,847
$51,864
8 $52,901
$53,959
9 $55,039
$56,139
10 $57,262
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Minnesota Board of Public Defense
Salary Study
TABLE I
BOARD OF PUBLIC DEFENSE
FY 1998 SALARY RANGES
ASST. PUBLIC DEFENDER III
STEP
ANNUAL
1 $53,054
$54,115
2 $55,197
$56,301
3 $57,427
$58,576
4 $59,748
$60,942
5 $62,161
$63,405
6 $64,673
$65,966
7 $67,285
$68,631
8 $70,004
$71,404
9 $72,832
$74,289
10 $75,774
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Minnesota Board of Public Defense
Salary Study
TABLE J
BOARD OF PUBLIC DEFENSE
FY 1998 SALARY RANGES
INVESTIGATOR
STEP ANNUAL
1 $21,690
$22,123
2 $22,566
$23,017
3 $23,477
$23,947
4 $24,426 10 $30,978
$24,914 $31,598
5 $25,413 11 $32,230
$25,921 $32,874
6 $26,439 12 $33,532
$26,968 $34,202
7 $27,508 13 $34,886
$28,058 $35,584
8 $28,619 14 $36,296
$29,191 $34,202
9 $29,775
$30,371
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Minnesota Board of Public Defense
Salary Study
TABLE K
BOARD OF PUBLIC DEFENSE
FY 1998 SALARY RANGES
INVESTIGATOR II
STEP
ANNUAL
1 $32,491
$33,140
2 $33,803
$34,479
3 $35,169
$35,872
4 $36,590
$37,321
5 $38,068
$38,829
6 $39,606
$40,398
7 $41,206
$42,030
8 $42,871
$43,728
9 $44,603
$45,495
10 $46,405
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Minnesota Board of Public Defense
Salary Study
TABLE L
BOARD OF PUBLIC
DEFENSE
FY 1998 SALARY RANGES
PARALEGAL
STEP ANNUAL
1 $21,690
$22,123 10 $30,978
2 $22,566 $31,598
$23,017 11 $32,230
3 $23,477 $32,874
$23,947 12 $33,532
4 $24,426 $34,202
$24,914 13 $34,886
5 $25,413 $35,584
$25,921 14 $36,296
6 $26,439
$26,968
7 $27,508
$28,058
8 $28,619
$29,191
9 $29,775
$30,371
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Minnesota Board of Public Defense
Salary Study
TABLE M
BOARD OF PUBLIC
DEFENSE
FY 1998 SALARY RANGES
PARALEGAL
STEP
ANNUAL
1 $29,444
$30,033
2 $30,634
$31,246
3 $31,871
$32,509
4 $33,159
$33,822
5 $34,498
$35,188
6 $35,892
$36,610
7 $37,342
$38,089
8 $38,851
$39,628
9 $40,420
$41,229
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Minnesota Board of Public Defense
Salary Study
TABLE N
BOARD OF PUBLIC DEFENSE
FY 1998 SALARY RANGES
LEGAL SECRETARY
STEP
ANNUAL
1 $18,673
$19,047
2 $19,428
$19,816
3 $20,213
$20,617
4 $21,029
$21,450
5 $21,879
$22,316
6 $22,763
$23,218
7 $23,682
$24,156
8 $24,639
$25,132
9 $25,634
$26,147
10 $26,670
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Minnesota Board of Public Defense
Salary Study
TABLE 0
BOARD OF PUBLIC DEFENSE
FY 1998 SALARY RANGES
SR. LEGAL SECRETARY
STEP
ANNUAL
1 $21,859
$22,296
2 $22,742
$23,197
3 $23,661
$24,134
4 $24,616
$25,109
5 $25,611
$26,123
6 $26,646
$27,179
7 $27,722
$28,277
8 $28,842
$29,419
9 $30,007
$30,607
10 $31,220
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Minnesota Board of Public Defense
Salary Study
TABLE P
BOARD OF PUBLIC DEFENSE
FY 1998 SALARY RANGES
MANAGING LEGAL SECRETARY
STEP
ANNUAL
1 $26,472
$27,002
2 $27,542
$28,092
3 $28,654
$29,227
4 $29,812
$30,408
5 $31,016
$31,637
6 $32,269
$32,915
7 $33,573
$34,245
8 $34,929
$35,628
9 $36,341
$37,067
10 $37,809
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Minnesota Board of Public Defense
Salary Study
TABLE Q
BOARD OF PUBLIC
DEFENSE
FY 1998 SALARY RANGES
DISPOSITIONAL ADVISOR
ANNUAL
STEP
1 $25,346
$25,853
2 $26,370
$26,898
3 $27,436
$27,984
4 $28,544
$29,115
5 $29,697
$30,291
6 $30,897
$31,515
7 $32,145
$32,788
8 $33,444
$34,113
9 $34,795
$35,491
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Minnesota Board
or Public DefenseSalary Study
TABLE R
BOARD OF PUBLIC
DEFENSE
FY 1998 SALARY RANGES
DISPOSITIONAL ADVISOR
II
STEP
ANNUAL
1 $30,180
$30,784
2 $31,400
$32,028
3 $32,668
$33,321
4 $33,988
$34,668
5 $35,361
$36,068
6 $36,790
$37,525
7 $38,276
$39,041
8 $39,822
$40,619
9 $41,431
$42,260
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Minnesota Board of Public Defense
Salary Study
D. Study Recommendation
Based upon the current salary assessment contained in part C, the salary
Difference for each individual Board of Public Defense employee is summed below, to
come up with the costs for each class of employee, and a total summary of projected
salary needs for the agency for FY 2000 and FY 2001.
FY COSTS OF SALARY COMPARISON
FY 2000 FY 2001
ATTORNEYS $1,945,000 $2,004,000
INVESTIGATORS $ 98,000 $ 101,000
PARALEGALS $ 41,000 $ 42,000
LEGAL SECRETARY $ 149,000 $ 153,000
OFFICE MANAGERS $ 79,000 $ 81,000
DISP. ADVISORS $ 74,000 $ 76,000
TOTAL $2,386,000 $2,457,000
RECOMMENDATION
In consideration of the salary assessment contained in this study, it is recommended that salary ranges approved for all employee classes, would begin with the entry-level salary for comparable classes in the Attorney General's Office. The top salary range for each class would be the highest average salary of each class in the Attorney General's Office after twenty years of service.
The corresponding budget recommendations for FY 2000 and FY 200 1, are as follows.
FY 2000 - $2,386,000
FY 2001 - $2,457,000
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