General Information

Last Updated: October 2024

The following provides you with an overview of the information that pertains to your employment as a State of Alaska employee. To determine how this information applies to you specifically, you may need to refer to your individual collective bargaining agreement.

Employment Status

The following describes the five main types of positions in the classified service. Your supervisor can tell you the position type and required hours for your position.

Permanent Full-time: Work 37:30 hours per week. For health insurance and retirement benefits purposes only, 30 hours is considered full-time. Supervisory (SU) and Labor, Trades and Crafts (LTC) employees are regularly scheduled to work 40 hours per week.

Permanent Part-time: Work less than 37:30 hours per week. Must work a minimum of 15 hours per week to be eligible for health insurance with retirement benefits, holiday pay and accrued leave prorated based on the number of hours worked per week.

Permanent Seasonal: Full-time or part-time, but less than 12 months per year.

Nonpermanent, Short-Term: Short-Term nonpermanent employment is less than 120 calendar days and the employee is not eligible for most benefits.

Nonpermanent, Long-Term: Long-Term nonpermanent employment is longer than 120 calendar days and the employee may be entitled to holiday pay, accrued leave, and health insurance, but is not eligible for PERS/TRS retirement benefits.

Nepotism Prohibited

The Executive Branch Ethics Act (AS 39.950 (11)) prohibits employees from being in an employment relationship with an immediate family member, including a conjugal relationship that is not a legal marriage.

The statute and regulation (AS 39.90.020 and 2 AAC 07.112 and 2 AAC 07.950) pertaining to nepotism also prohibit the appointment of certain individuals. The regulation does allow for a waiver if there is not a direct supervisory relationship.

For more information view the Nepotism Ethics FAQ (PDF).

Probationary Period

All new employees in the classified service who are hired into a permanent position are required to complete a probationary period prior to being allowed to become permanent. During this period, the supervisor will evaluate the employee's job performance. If the employee's performance is not satisfactory, the employee will be notified in writing during the probationary period and the employee may be terminated at that time or have their probationary period extended.

Duration, extension, and other details of the probation period differ depending upon the governing collective bargaining agreement. See specific agreement for details.

Performance Evaluations

Performance evaluations are required annually for all classified employees. They are designed to help supervisors clearly communicate and rate performance expectations, annual goals, and learning for employees. Performance evaluations are initiated by your supervisor at the midpoint and end of your probationary period, and are continued annually after that period. A performance evaluation should be completed when the employee changes positions, has a change of supervisor, when there is a change in performance, or at the time the employee terminates his or her employment with the state.

Performance evaluations are based upon the performance expectations based on the position description (PD), annual goals, and the learning of the employee. A copy of your PD can be obtained from your supervisor or by making a request to Employee Records.

Pay/Compensation Information

Timesheets

You may be required to complete a timesheet each pay period; please check with your supervisor for specific requirements.

Payroll Warrant (Your Paycheck)

Your payroll warrant will be issued to you on a biweekly payroll schedule (i.e., every other week). Please refer to the appropriate State calendar for dates. Payroll warrants are in the mail prior to the official payday so employees will have them by the official payday. You have the choice of having your payroll warrant mailed to an address of your choice or to have your wages electronically deposited to a financial institution of your choice. Electronic fund transfers typically take place a couple days prior to payday, but the state guarantees you’ll be paid by payday and not before (so plan your automatic withdrawals accordingly).

Employee Self Service

State employees who receive their pay via direct deposit are able to view their payroll advice (paystub) information through the Employee Self Service website. This website allows State employees to easily access their own personal information in a secure manner that protects confidentiality.

The payroll information presented online is identical to the information delivered to employees who have their paper warrants (paychecks) mailed.

State employees who elect to receive a paper paycheck will receive their payroll information attached to the warrant. This information is also available through the Employee Self Service website. Receive important notifications regarding system outages, issue resolutions and updates by joining the IRIS Information mailing list.

Finding Your Pay Advice (Paystub) in IRIS ESS

1. From the "Home" page click on "My Info", then "My Compensation".
2. Select "Issued Checks / Advices".
3. Select the paperclip on the row that represents the paystub you would like to view. You may need to click the "Next" button to see additional paystub results.
4. Select "Download".
5. Click "Open" to display your Pay Advice as a PDF document, or click "Save" to save the document.

There are many resource links available on the Division of Finance website to help employees become familiar with this service.

• For additional information about ESS, please check out the ESS Overview video and ESS Reference Guide on the IRIS References & Resources page
• For additional information regarding how to read your Payroll Advice: http://doa.alaska.gov/dof/payroll/resource/prstubref.pdf
• For further paystub assistance contact the Employee Call Center

Salaried Versus Hourly Pay

Salaried employees are not overtime eligible and will receive a full salary when they are in full pay status in a pay period. Some employees are paid hourly and are overtime eligible. They will receive their appropriate hourly pay rate for all hours worked; for employees with a varying schedule, their pay may fluctuate from pay period to pay period based on their hours worked. If you are unsure if you are paid as an hourly or salaried employee, contact your supervisor or the Employee Call Center.

Salary Schedules

Salary Schedules bi-weekly salaried or hourly pay rate for each salary range. Salary schedules are determined by collective bargaining agreements, the strike class of the position, and geographical locations, and are maintained by the Department of Administration, Division of Finance.

Office Closures for State of Alaska

The Department of Administration on occasion issues notices of office closures due to inclement weather or other reasons. These notices are drafted to communicate information believed to be essential for state employees and the public. Receive closure notifications by phone or email when you sign-up or manage your GovDelivery subscription (select OFFICE CLOSURE list after login) at https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/AKDOA/subscriber/new.

For more information see Office Closure Policy and Procedures

State Calendars

State Calendars highlighting payroll warrant distribution days and holidays are available for employees on the Department of Administration website.

Holidays

Most employees except short-term nonpermanent, emergency, or intern employees are entitled to payment for all legal holidays listed in the individual collective bargaining unit agreements or the Personnel Rules / Alaska Adminstrative Code 2 AAC 07.810, whichever covers your employment status. In order to be eligible for holiday pay, you must be in pay status at least a portion of the scheduled workdays immediately preceding and following the holiday. Part-time employees will receive holiday pay on a prorated basis. See the State Calendars for a complete listing of observed holidays. If you do not work a regular Monday-Friday work week, please refer to your collective bargaining unit agreement for specific holiday observance information.

Payroll Deductions Summary

The State of Alaska as your employer must take certain mandatory deductions from your paycheck as required by law, regulation, or collective bargaining agreement. The following is a summary of the possible mandatory deductions.

• Medicare Liability: Mandatory federal tax for Medicare Liability and Coverage of 1.45% of gross pay.
• Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) or Teachers' Retirement System (TRS): Pre-taxed mandatory deduction of gross pay.
• Supplemental Annuity Plan (SBS-AP): Pre-taxed mandatory deduction of 6.13% of gross pay to an annuities account up to the current year social security limit.
• Employee Premium Contribution for Health Insurance: Varies, depending on your collective bargaining agreement and your selections.
• Union Dues: Please contact your union for this information.
• Federal Withholding: Federal income tax.

Other payroll deductions will be taken to cover the cost of health insurance and other optional insurance benefits that you may elect. Refer to the Insurance Enrollment Information page for more information about your enrollment options.

Office of Information Technology

Office of Information Technology (OIT) staff can help with problems with logging in or other issues with computers. There are a couple of helpful pages to be found through OIT, listed below.

• Password Recovery Page - If you need to reset your State of Alaska password, you can go to this page. If you are outside of the State of Alaska system, you will need to go to the non-secure Password Recovery page.
• Helpdesk Contact Info - If a new State of Alaska employee has any problems outside of password recovery, use this page to contact the department’s helpdesk.

Leave Benefits

All probationary/permanent employees accrue personal leave. If you have prior state service you may be credited with that service for the calculation of your accrual rate. If you are a part-time employee, your leave will accrue on a prorated basis. If you work seasonally, you will accrue leave during the period you are on active duty.

Accrued personal leave is available for use after successful completion of thirty (30) consecutive calendar days of leave eligible employment. The leave eligibility date would be reset if you had a full day of leave without pay in your first thirty (30) days of employment. Personal leave can be used for both vacation, sick and medical reasons. Leave taken for medical reasons may be for the employee or the employee's immediate family. Whenever possible, leave should be pre-approved. You should check with your supervisor regarding requirements for requesting leave in advance and notifying someone of the need for unplanned leave.

Please refer to your individual bargaining unit agreement for a complete explanation of your leave benefits including accrual rates, mandatory leave requirements, and to determine when your accrued leave is available for use.

NOTE: Please be aware that defaulting into leave without pay (LWOP) may adversely affect your leave and insurance benefits. Leave accruals are prorated when LWOP occurs and insurance effective dates may be affected. The employee’s leave anniversary date, probationary period, and merit anniversary date are advanced by one month for each accumulation of 23 days of LWOP in the leave year (from January 1 to the following December 31) unless otherwise provided for in statutes, regulations or contracts. Further information regarding LWOP and insurance can be found on the Insurance Enrollment Information page.

Union Information

Union Membership / Representation

Most employees who work for the State of Alaska are part of the classified service, and are covered by a collective bargaining unit agreement. This means that your working conditions, salary, benefits, and many other aspects of your employment are addressed by this agreement.

If your position is represented by a union, it is your responsibility to contact them on your own time regarding any obligations. The contact information is included on the Union Notification form (PDF) and the GGU Notification Form (PDF) on the New Employee Orientation Forms page. If you are unsure which union represents you, please check with your supervisor.

Union Business Leave Bank

In accordance with the union contracts, new employees may be assessed a pre-determined amount of personal leave to be transferred to the appropriate union business leave bank. The initial union leave deduction typically takes place during the first few months of employment and will be reflected as an adjustment within the earnings section of your paystub. Please refer to your individual bargaining unit agreement or contact the union that represents you for specific information.

Union Contracts

To request a copy of your bargaining agreement, please contact your designated union office. Electronic versions may be found on the Labor Relations website.