Fiscal Year 2026 UWL Compensation Plan
A page within Human Resources
Background
Over the past year, the University of Wisconsin La Crosse (UWL) has engaged in the development of a compensation plan to address campus wage equity and competitiveness. While feedback gathered from shared governance and the broader campus community identified several areas of concern, there was consistent support for prioritizing compensation adjustments for the university’s lowest-paid employees in terms of hourly wage and market parity. This feedback informed the development of Phase 1, which will take effect on December 28, 2025.
Phase 1 will:
- Increase the campus minimum salary from $16.00 per hour to $18.00 per hour
- Adjust eligible employee base salaries to reach 80% parity with the peer comparison median for their respective titles.
Employees Eligible for the UWL Compensation Plan
- Faculty
- Instructional Academic Staff
- Non-Instructional Academic Staff
- University Staff
Employees Not Covered by These Guidelines
- Limited-term
- Ad hoc employees
- Research Interns
- Interim, acting appointments, or employees with a temporary base adjustment
- Student Hourly Staff and Graduate Assistants
- Employees in training
- Temporary Employees
- Employees covered by collective bargaining
80% Parity
Eligible employees will have their base salaries adjusted to reach 80% of the peer comparator median. The peer comparator data set is primarily derived from CUPA-HR and Universities of Wisconsin sources. UWL will share compensation parity information in aggregate form to provide transparency regarding overall equity progress. However, the specific market data used in the compensation analysis is proprietary and will not be shared in detail.
Campus Minimum Increase
Effective December 28, 2025, the campus minimum will be increased from $16.00 per hour to $18.00 per hour. Eligible employees that are below $18.00 per hour, or the FTB equivalent of $37,440, will receive an increase to bring them up to the new minimum. This will impact salary grades 15, 16, and 18. Additionally, meritorious employees in those pay grades that are already above the new minimum will receive an equity adjustment based on years of service. Years of service will be based on the employee’s adjusted continuous service date. Employees will receive either a minimum increase or an equity adjustment, but not both.
| Adjusted Continuous Service Date | Equity Increase |
| On or after January 1, 2016 | 1% |
| Between January 1, 2006 - December 31, 2015 | 2% |
| On or prior to December 31, 2005 | 3% |
Adjusted continuous service is all time in a leave earning position with the UW System or State of Wisconsin.
Timeline
The Week of December 8th
Deans/Directors will receive information from the Budget Office identifying affected employees. Vice Chancellors will be copied. Deans/Directors are responsible for sharing this information with supervisors and employees as they see fit.
Starting December 8th, hiring managers may also begin sharing the new $18.00 per hour minimum with candidates.
Second Half of December
UW Shared Services will upload pay adjustments into Workday. Once uploads are complete, employees will automatically receive notification through Workday.
December 28
Pay rate changes take effect. HR will update active recruitments impacted by the new minimum.
January 22
Affected employees will see the adjustment reflected on their January A paycheck.