President Drake approved a general salary increase of 3.2% for all eligible staff members. For monthly-paid employees, increases will be effective July 1, 2025, and will be reflected in the August 1, 2025, paycheck. For biweekly-paid employees, increases will be effective June 22, 2025, and will be reflected in the July 30, 2025, paycheck.
Background
Guidelines and eligibility criteria are noted below. This program does not apply to exclusively represented employees, whose salaries are determined in accordance with applicable collective bargaining agreements and/or meeting-and-conferring under the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (HEERA). Guidelines for academic appointees will be issued separately.
2025 Eligibility Guidelines
Only employees who meet the following requirements will be eligible for a general salary increase.
Career Employees:
- Non-represented PPS policy-covered staff who successfully completed probation.
- Non-represented MSP policy-covered staff who worked 6 continuous months in a staff position prior to July 1, 2025.
- Non-represented policy-covered staff hired in a staff position at UC Merced on or before December 31, 2024.
Contract Employees:
- Contract employees who worked 6 continuous months in a staff position prior to July 1, 2025.
- Contract employees hired at UC Merced on or before December 31, 2024.
A General Salary Increase is based on an employee's salary and appointment as of June 30, 2025.
UC Merced Eligibility Exclusions
The following criteria further outlines specific exclusions to the eligibility criteria for UC Merced.
- Career employees on probation status as of July 1, 2025
- Student employees (casual restricted appointments). Employment in a student position does not count toward eligibility for the staff general salary increase, including meeting the probationary period or hire-date requirement.
- Academic appointees – guidelines for the Academic employee general salary increase program are issued separately. Please refer to the Academic Personnel Office 2025-26 Academic Salary Program page for more information.
- Rehired retirees
- Staff members whose most recent performance rating was “1 – Met Few Expectations,” or "2 – Met Some Expectations,” or who have documented corrective/disciplinary action during the review period, as documented by Human Resources.
- Exclusively represented employees, whose salaries are determined in accordance with applicable collective bargaining agreements and/or meeting-and-conferring under the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (HEERA).
- Newly accreted or unionized employees: Employees in job titles that are accreted into a bargaining unit on or before July 1, 2025—including those newly represented by SSAP-UAW—are not eligible for the non-represented general salary increase. These employees will receive any applicable increases under the terms of their collective bargaining agreement.
