Law enforcement, nursing professionals and mental health professionals compensation analysis conducted and released by the South Carolina Department of Administration (Admin).
In January 2022, Governor McMaster directed the South Carolina Department of Administration (Admin) to conduct a compensation analysis on law enforcement positions in state government. The following month, Admin’s Division of State Human Resources (DSHR) published a report recommending increases in the salaries of law enforcement officers in state government. The recommendations for base salary increases were fully funded by the General Assembly and implemented effective July 1, 2022.
Pursuant to the request of Governor McMaster, Admin’s 2022 compensation study and report focused on law enforcement officers. The research completed for the study, however, supported a need to simultaneously address the compensation of correctional officers at the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) and juvenile correctional officers at the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ).
A review of human resources data and meetings with impacted agencies indicated that the increases improved the ability to recruit and retain quality officers to state government. However, the labor market responded to the salary increases in state government and several major competitors raised or intend to raise their salaries to match or exceed those recommended in February 2022 by Admin. Admin released a new report in February 2023 to provide an update on the status of law enforcement positions in state government and provide updated compensation recommendations to ensure that the salaries for law enforcement officers in South Carolina state agencies remain competitive in the current labor market.
Admin’s DSHR also conducted and released, in February 2023, a compensation analysis for both nursing professionals across state government agencies and mental health professionals.
Compensation studies: