Kansas Governor Pushes to Raise Pay for State Workers

Kansas is among the 20 states where the minimum wage has yet to rise above the federal requirement of $7.25.

There’s a long-running conversation centered on the merits of setting a $15 minimum wage nationwide. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly is “not gonna go there” when it comes to the possibility of raising the state’s minimum wage to $15 across the Sunflower State. But her newest budget proposal puts Kansas state government employees in line for a pay increase, starting with establishing a $15 minimum wage for those employed by the state.

Gov. Kelly recently laid out her budget proposal for fiscal year 2025, which included an investment in attracting and retaining state employees, “to ensure the state of Kansas has the workforce necessary to deliver services effectively and efficiently,” according to a statement from Gov. Kelly’s office. Her proposed budget would implement a 5% pay raise and increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour for state workers, “to adjust for the job market and be competitive with private-sector employers.”

Those Kansas-based private-sector employers would not see a change in the current minimum wage, Adam Proffitt, the state’s budget director and Gov. Kelly’s chief financial advisor, told the Kansas Legislature in presenting the governor’s budget proposal, as The Topeka Capital-Journal reported.

Gov. Kelly’s policy recommendation is strictly “for the state of Kansas as an employer, not [in the interest of] rewriting the state’s minimum wage standards for the private sector,” Proffitt told lawmakers, adding that the administration believes $15 an hour is “a good starting point for a livable wage in Kansas.”

As The Topeka Capital-Journal noted, Kansas state government currently includes more than 900 employees earning less than $15 an hour; a group that includes administrative assistants, food service employees and laundry workers.

Across the board, “the vast majority of state workers” in Kansas would receive a 5% raise, the paper’s Jason Alatidd and Jack Harvel wrote, adding that employees of around-the-clock facilities such as prisons and nursing facilities would see an additional adjustment.

According to Proffitt, the differential pay plan for such facilities was designed as a temporary measure meant to stabilize the workforce, but should become permanent. Adjustments to these differentials would convert some into base pay, and figure to have minimal impact on the state budget, as the spending is already built into agency allocations.

“We’ve targeted a lot of the funds on the hourly staff there, and rightfully so,” Proffitt told legislators. “They’ve done just incredible work there, and it’s been a successful program. Now we need to recognize the efforts of the salaried individuals.”