§ 8-23-206 — Longevity pay

(a) In addition to all compensation otherwise payable, each employee of the executive, judicial or legislative branch of state government, except those specifically excluded in subsection (d), shall be paid longevity pay on the following basis: (1) (A) (i) A full-time employee, or an employee who is eligible to accrue annual and sick leave under §§ 8-50-801 and 8-50-802 , must be employed with one (1) or more agencies, offices, departments, or other subdivisions of the executive, judicial, or legislative branch of state government thirty-six (36) months to be eligible for longevity pay. Such employment need not be in the same office for the entire period; (ii) A full-time employee of the department of education shall be eligible for the same longevity pay as other full-time employees of state government if the qualifications for the position held by such employee in the department of education requires the employee to have three (3) years experience as a professional employee in a Tennessee public school system; (B) A part-time employee may be eligible for longevity pay if such employee: (i) Is retired from state employment; (ii) While so employed full time did not receive a longevity bonus; and (iii) Is employed on a regular, but part-time basis. Such an employee shall receive longevity pay based on years of service prior to retirement, plus the total of such employee's part-time employment. If the employee has the requisite months of service to qualify for longevity pay, the employee shall receive longevity pay on the employee's service anniversary date in each year in which the employee is employed part time. Payment of any longevity pay shall not increase or decrease the amount of such employee's retirement pay; (C) Any former member of the general assembly upon becoming a full-time employee shall be an eligible employee under this section and shall be credited for each year of legislative service as twelve (12) months of employment for all time served in the general assembly when determining longevity pay; (2) Longevity pay shall be computed in accordance with the following schedule: (A) In the 1988-1989 fiscal year and subsequent fiscal years, the rate shall be one hundred dollars ($100) times the number of years of service with each twelve (12) months of service equivalent to a calendar or full year ($100 x total years of service equals longevity pay); (B) (i) It is the legislative intent that the faculty of the universities, community colleges, and technical institutes shall be granted longevity pay at the rate of one hundred dollars ($100) per year in the 1988-1989 fiscal year, and subsequent fiscal years; (ii) Faculty members who work on a ten (10) months per year contract basis shall receive one (1) year's longevity service for each such contract period worked; (iii) Faculty members who work on a ten (10) months per year contract basis and who will either continue in service for the following academic year or retire shall be paid longevity pay at the time of the final payment of compensation for services which are completed for that ten (10) month contract period; (3) (A) For employees with from thirty-six (36) months to one hundred eighty (180) months of service (three (3) to fifteen (15) years), longevity payments shall be made at the end of the month following the month in which an eligible employee's service anniversary date falls; (B) For employees with more than one hundred eighty (180) months of service, the longevity payment shall be made to each such employee on October 1 in each year, without regard to any break in active service which may have occurred prior to such payment; (C) For purposes of this section only, the longevity payment date shall be the service anniversary date as determined by the department of human resources and shall only be advanced as a result of breaks in service or periods of leave without pay for a major fraction of a month. Full-time employees who have prior part-time service consisting of at least a one thousand six hundred (1,600) hour annual schedule shall receive longevity credit for each month of such part-time service in which the employee was scheduled to work a full month and actually worked one-tenth ( 1 / 10 ) of one (1) hour more than half the schedule. Longevity benefits provided by the two (2) preceding sentences shall not be paid retroactively. The number of years of service at the Memphis Area Vocational Technical School and the number of years of service at the Knoxville Area Vocational Technical School will be used in computing number of years of service for longevity pay purposes for employees of each of those institutions; (D) For certified professional employees leaving Tennessee public schools to become employed full time as staff of the department of education, the longevity payment shall be made at the end of the month following the month in which an eligible employee's state government service anniversary date falls. Longevity payments shall be computed to include three (3) years' service experience in any Tennessee public school system; (E) A full-time employee with thirty-six (36) months of full-time service shall receive payment for prior part-time hourly service if the length of such prior part-time service is equivalent to not less than five (5) years of full-time experience. (4) Although paid annually, longevity pay shall be subject to deductions for retirement and shall be included in base compensation for purposes of determining the level or amount of benefits to be paid to an employee under that program; (5) (A) Any wildlife officer of the Tennessee wildlife resources agency who is retiring pursuant to § 8-36-205 shall, upon such retirement, receive longevity pay prorated for each month of employment since the period for which such officer last received an annual longevity payment. Such prorated payment shall be subject to deductions for retirement and shall be included in base compensation for purposes of determining the level or amount of benefits to be paid to such officer; (B) This subsection (a) applies to each wildlife officer who retires on or after June 30, 1986; (C) Any wildlife officer receiving a payment in the form of a retirement incentive pursuant to state law shall not be entitled to receive the longevity pay as provided by this subsection (a). (b) (1) Longevity payments shall be made for each year of service, beginning from the completion date of the third year of service (thirty-six (36) months); however, longevity payments for certified professional employees set forth in subdivision (a)(1)(A) and employed in a full-time position of the department of education which required three (3) years' experience as a certified professional employee in a Tennessee public school system shall begin from the completion date of the first twelve (12) months of service. (2) In the 1989-1990 fiscal year, the maximum level of benefits shall be reached at the twenty-first year of service (two hundred fifty-two (252) months); in fiscal years thereafter, the maximum level of benefits shall increase by one (1) year (twelve (12) months) each fiscal year until the 1993-1994 fiscal year and fiscal years thereafter, when the maximum level of benefits shall be reached at the twenty-fifth year of service (three hundred (300) months); provided, that subsequent to the 1989-1990 fiscal year, the increase in the maximum level of benefits is contingent upon funds being specifically allocated for that purpose in the general appropriations act. It is the legislative intention that each year that such funds are so appropriated such appropriation shall be recurring. No payment shall exceed the applicable longevity dollar amount for the year times the applicable years of service. (3) In the 2006-2007 fiscal year, and in fiscal years thereafter, the maximum level of benefits shall be reached at the thirtieth year of service (three hundred sixty (360) months). No payment shall exceed the applicable longevity dollar amount for the year times the applicable years of service. (c) The longevity pay provided by this section shall not be in place of any merit raise, step increase, incentive pay or cost-of-living raise, but shall be in addition to all such increases. Longevity pay provided in this section shall be issued by separate check or by automated clearing house (ACH) transaction to the qualified employee, unless the employee elects not to receive a separate longevity check or separate payment by ACH transaction; provided, however, that employees of the board of regents shall not be issued separate checks for longevity pay. It is declared to be the intent of the general assembly to reward those not otherwise rewarded for experience and faithful service to the state and to encourage career employees to remain in service to the state. (d) This section shall not apply to: (1) Officials popularly elected to fixed terms in office, including the governor, judges and members of the general assembly; (2) Persons receiving automatic annual raises under § 8-7-201 , or otherwise, or to such person who would have been eligible for such automatic annual raises in years when no such raise was implemented pursuant to chapter 355 of the Public Acts of 2003, and chapter 531 of the Public Acts of 2009; (3) Persons receiving separate longevity pay under § 4-7-111 ; (4) State-employed teachers in the department of education who are paid based on local teachers' pay scales which increase based on years of experience; (5) Employees of the University of Tennessee extension who hold joint appointments with the United States department of agriculture; or (6) Employees of the executive branch in the state service, as defined by § 8-30-102 , hired after June 30, 2015. (e) Effective July 1, 2002, an employee of any board, commission or agency created by the supreme court of Tennessee shall be eligible for longevity pay under the same terms and conditions that apply to state employees. Eligible employees who have prior service with any such board, commission or agency shall receive longevity credit for each year of such service; provided, that such service would otherwise be creditable for longevity purposes. Longevity benefits provided by this subsection (e) shall not be paid retroactive. The benefits shall be payable only for periods commencing after June 30, 2002, and shall be paid at the end of the month following the month in which the employee's service anniversary date falls. (f) The longevity pay required in this section for state employees shall apply to present state employees for service performed that meets all of the following criteria: (1) The service was performed while working for the health department of a home rule municipality; (2) The service performed was substantially similar to service performed by employees of the state department of health; (3) The service was performed for a municipality for which public health services were performed by the federal government before the municipality was incorporated; (4) The service was performed for the municipality because the state, during a transition period, permitted the county in which the municipality was located to omit the municipality from the area where state-funded health services were provided, which in effect required the municipality to bear these costs; and (5) The service was performed in years immediately prior to the employee becoming a state employee engaged in public health-related work. (g) The departments of human resources and finance and administration may formulate rules which shall govern the longevity pay authorized in this section.

Legislative History

Amended by 2015 Tenn. Acts, ch. 364, s 1, eff. 7/1/2015. Acts 1979, ch. 434, § 1; T.C.A., § 8-2315; Acts 1980, ch. 889, §§ 1, 2; 1981, ch. 51, §§ 1, 2; 1981, ch. 429, § 3; 1982, ch. 875, §§ 1-3, 5; 1984, ch. 875, § 1; 1985, ch. 448, §§ 1-4; 1986, ch. 639, § 1; 1986, ch. 757, § 1; 1986, ch. 864, § 1; 1987, ch. 50, §§ 1, 2; 1987, ch. 380, § 1; 1988, ch. 468, § 1; 1988, ch. 536, § 1; 1989, ch. 540, §§ 1, 2; 1990, ch. 864, § 1; 1990, ch. 1003, § 1; 1993, ch. 504, §§ 1-3, 6; 1994, ch. 711, § 1; 1995, ch. 45, § 1; 1995, ch. 305, § 90; 2002, ch. 863, § 17; 2003 , ch. 355, § 9; 2004, ch. 517, § 1; 2006, ch. 982, § 4; 2009 , ch. 531, § 27; 2009 , ch. 587, § 1; 2010 , ch. 772, § 1; 2011 , ch. 405, § 1; 2012, ch. 1054, § 2.