Benefits September 10, 2003

Court Reporter Spends Time In Jail When Transcript Is Not Finished

September 10, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Failure to compile a transcript of a high-profile Texas murder trial, garnered a Dallas County court report a contempt of court charge and a Labor Day weekend behind bars.
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However, May Belton had plenty of warnings to either get the report done for the May 2002 capital murder trial of John Battaglia – who was sentenced to death for killing his two daughters – or face possible jail time. The nine-judge panel on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals first asked for the transcript in August 2002 and granted deadline extensions until February 2003, then until April 2003, according to a Dallas Morning News report.

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Finally determining enough is enough, the court then ordered Belton to explain why she had not completed the work in May 2003, leading to a contempt of court declaration in June and even then she was offered another chance to explain why the record was not ready. Belton was then ordered to jail on August 29.

The judges’ order stated that she must spend at least 72 hours in jail and remain there until the record is complete. Dallas County jail officials said Belton spent three days in jail during the Labor Day weekend and was released without completing the transcript. Officials with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals did not know why she was released and were examining the order’s compliance Monday.

Court reporting requires meticulous recordkeeping and long hours in trials. When transcripts are ordered for appeals, reporters are expected to produce the transcripts in their off time. In Belton’s case, the state law mandated appeal of Battaglia is pending the completion of the initial trial’s transcript.

Troy Bennett, clerk for the appeals court, said the court has two or three contempt cases each year involving reporters, as well as attorneys who do not file briefs on time. In 1989, for example, a court reporter spent about three weeks in a Texas jail for failing to deliver a death penalty trial transcript on time.

Benefits September 9, 2003

Hewitt: Raises At 3.4% in 2003; 3.6% in 2004

September 9, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Increases across the compensation board hit 27-year lows in 2003, as even the recent run of variable pay gains dropped off since gaining popularity in the 1990's.
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Average salary increases for 2003 were 3.4% for salaried exempt employees, 3.3% for salaried nonexempt employees, 3.3% for nonunion hourly workers and 3.5% for executives. Looking ahead, the forecast is only slightly better in 2004, with estimated increases of 3.6% for exempt employees, 3.5% for nonexempt employees, 3.5% for nonunion hourly workers and 3.7% for executives, according to Hewitt Associates’ US Salary Increase Survey.

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While increases pale in comparison from the recent high-level mark of 2001 – when base salary increases were 4.3% for salaried exempt employees and 4.5% for executives –the low salary increases are tempered with inflationary numbers that arerunning almost a point less than salary increase budgets.

The Conference Board, which earlier released similar salary budget projections (See Conference Board: Salary Budgets At 3.5% in 2003 ) is projecting a 2.6% rise in the Consumer Price Index for 2003 compared with a 3.5% average salary budget. Additionally, WorldatWork is projecting a 3.5% salary increase in 2003 (SeeWorldAtWork: Salary Budgets At 3.5% in 2003) and Mercer showed 3.3% increases (See Mercer: Pay Increases at 3.3% in 2003, 3.5% in 2004 ).These numbers are encouraging for employers that are trying to avoid a “double whammy” of declining salary increases and rising inflation.

Hewitt found inflationary numbers were not the main motivation for the overall salary increases. Rather, t he factors that have the greatest impact/influence on base salary spending for companies include:

  • position in the marketplace (74%)
  • internal cost control (69%)
  • the economy (60%)
  • talent attraction/retention issues (48%).

Regional Variations

In 2003, the highest increases among salaried exempt employees were recorded in our nation’s capital at 3.9% for 2003 and are likewise projected to be the highest in the land at 4.2% in 2004. This was followed by similarly higher than average increases on the other Gulf coast in Houston of 3.7% in 2003. However, the Bayou City could not hold onto the high projections in 2004, when it fell to just 3.5%. Otherwise, salary increases cities across the country in 2003 and projections in 2004 looked like:

  • Minneapolis/St. Paul – 3.6% 2003; 3.6% 2004
  • Los Angeles – 3.6% 2003; 4.0% 2004
  • San Francisco – 3.5% 2003; 3.7% 2004
  • New York City – 3.5% 2003; 3.8% 2004
  • Chicago – 3.4% 2003; 3.6% 2004
  • Philadelphia – 3.4% 2003; 3.5% 2004
  • Atlanta – 3.4% 2003; 3.4% 2004
  • Dallas – 3.3% 2003; 3.4% 2004
  • Milwaukee – 3.2% 2003; 3.6% 2004
  • Boston – 2.9% 2003; 3.5% 2004.

“The cost of living may be one of the factors that salary increases in certain cities are higher than the national average,” said Hewitt’s Ken Abosch. “However, because companies are focused on tighter fiscal control these days, I don’t think we’ll see salary averages in most areas vary too greatly from the national numbers.”

Variable Pay

While companies continue to offer variable pay – a performance-related award that must be re-earned each year and does not permanently increase base salary – they are cutting back on the amount of spending. Nearly eight of 10 (77%) of surveyed organizations currently have at least one type of broad-based variable pay plan in place, which is not surprising when the same number (77%) of the responding companies believe the use of variable pay programs helps improve their business results.

However, company spending on variable pay for salaried exempt employees dropped to an average of 8.8% of payroll in 2003 and is expected to reach only 9% of payroll in 2004. Specifically, Hewitt’s study shows that the most common types of variable pay plans in 2003 were:

  • 59% – business incentives
  • 55% – special recognition
  • 47% – individual performance
  • 32% – stock ownership.

“Variable pay programs are designed to benefit both the employee and employer,” said Abosch. “However, there needs to be rigor around monitoring the goals and objectives of these programs, and communicating where the company and individual employees stand compared to the goals. Without this discipline, variable pay programs are destined to fail. Conversely, if the program is executed correctly, employees can be very goal-focused and motivated to meet and exceed their objectives, and thus maximize their variable pay potential. In this economy especially, successful variable pay programs can be an important factor in company success.”

Copies of the US Salary Increase Survey are available through www.totalcompensationcenter.com , or by calling the Hewitt Associates Publications Desk at (847) 295-5000.

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