Salaries for state employees lag behind their private counterparts by an average of 27% — that’s according to a recent analysis by Virginia’s Human Resources agency.
Sara Wilson is director of the states's Human Resources department and says that gap affects Virginia's ability to find and keep employees.
"For instance in our own agency we opened up in a position in the healthcare area and we didn't get the caliber of talent that we're used to getting and what we understand is that it was based on the pay range."
Previous reports by the department show starting salaries aren’t the only problem — a big source for the gap, which is one of the worst in the country, is a lack of raises.
"We do not consistently give employee raises, and in fact it's rarer to have a raise than to not."
Lawmakers recently scrapped pay increases planned for this year, because of a budget shortfall.
