By Phil Kabler, Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Another month, another delay in the West Virginia Division of Highways submitting plans to propose new pay schedules and a new, more competitive pay policy for its employees.
The item Thursday was again removed from the agenda of the state Personnel Board, which, in March, sent a proposed draft back to Highways after concluding some of the proposed descriptions of jobs and job qualifications were “so vague as to be useless.”
In 2017, the Legislature passed and Gov. Jim Justice signed into law a bill intended to address high turnover and vacancy rates at Highways, which is constantly losing workers to the private sector because of low pay.
That manpower shortage has been cited as a contributing factor in deferred maintenance resulting in crumbling roadways around the state. …