Labor Board orders Rauner to restore steps, make state employees whole
On July 10, the Illinois Labor Relations Board issued a decision and order regarding step increases owed to state employees since the Rauner administration illegally froze them in 2015.
It’s the latest step forward in AFSCME’s fight for fair pay for state workers. After Rauner froze steps, the union filed an Unfair Labor Practice Charge and eventually won an appellate court case. This spring a thousand union members turned out at the state Capitol to push Rauner to restore movement through the pay plan.
In accordance with the state appellate court’s mandate, the Labor Board ordered the state to make employees whole.
Specifically, the board ordered the state and CMS to take the following actions:
- Restore the union members’ step increases;
- Make whole all employees for losses incurred, including back pay with interest at seven percent;
- Post this notice for 60 days; and
- Notify the board in writing within 20 days of the steps the state has taken to comply with these orders.
“Bruce Rauner has wronged employees for more than three years, preventing the movement through the step plan that was one of the conditions on which they were hired,” AFSCME Council 31 Executive Director Roberta Lynch said. “We appreciate the Labor Board’s decisive action on this matter. It’s far past time for the governor to place every employee on the appropriate step and make them whole for all losses incurred since 2015.”
