Is the state discriminating against us?

[METRO]

I am a Louisiana state civil service employee in the medical field. Before hurricane Katrina and even now our facility has had trouble hiring new employees because of the pay rate not being competitive with other hospitals. However, years after the storm, there have been a steady stream of employees from New Orleans in which our hospital has hired. Since New Orleans operated in a different market, these employees were paid higher pay rates to be competitive in that market. I have reason to believe that these employees kept their higher pay rates that is considerable higher than the rest of us. Now our hospital is well staffed with these higher paid employees. Is it legal for them to hire these employees at their higher pay rates without raising our pay to match. We are all doing the same work under the same civil service rules. Are they discriminating against us?

 

[cbg]

No. It is a sad fact of life that often the newer employees are paid more than the existing employees because of changes in the hiring market. That falls under the category of unfair, but not illegal.

 

[METRO]

But these are not new employees to the civil service system. These are state employees that previously worked in New Orleans but were displaced because of the storm. One of the people who went along with these employees keeping their present salaries, our department manger, is also displaced from New Orleans.

 

[cbg]

Still not illegal.

 

[Green_Hornet]

You should check with an attorney in Louisiana that has a good understating of the state civil service. There may be a rule against it with in the state civil service system.