Glossary
- Base Pay: The initial salary paid to an officer not including any extras, such as allowances, stipends, incentives, benefits or overtime.
- Compensatory Time: Time off with pay in lieu of overtime pay for irregular or occasional overtime work.
- Cost-of-living Adjustment: A percentage increase added to an employee’s base pay to account for increases in the cost of living (i.e., inflation). It is frequently called a “COLA.”
- Educational Incentive or Education Incentive: An annual, lump-sum payment for earning an advanced degree in certain subject matters, such as criminal justice. As the level of degree increases, the amount of the lump-sum payment also increases.
- Hazard/Hazardous Duty Pay: Additional pay for performing work under circumstances in which an accident could result in serious injury or death, or that causes an extreme physical discomfort or distress not alleviated by protective or mechanical devices.
- Holiday Compensation: The hourly rate for working on a holiday, typically calculated at one-and-a-half times the officer’s regular hourly rate.
- Longevity Pay: Additional compensation provided for each year of service as a police officer. It is a percentage of base pay. It is sometimes called a career incentive.
- Protective Vest Stipend: Defined in Article XXIX, Section 27, of the Superiors’ Contract, titled Protective Vest/Hazardous Duty/Technology Compensation, it is payment for wearing a protective vest, working a hazardous duty, being trained to use Narcan, and carrying Narcan. In previous contracts with the Methuen police unions, this stipend was referred to as the hazardous duty stipend.
- Quinn Bill Pay: An annual payment for earning an advanced degree in certain subject matters, such as criminal justice. As the level of degree increases, the amount of the payment also increases. It is derived from the Quinn Bill (M.G.L. c. 41, § 108L) enacted in 1970. In Methuen, only officers hired before July 1, 2013 are eligible to receive the Quinn Bill Pay. It differs from an educational incentive in that it is calculated as a percentage (between 10% and 25%) of base pay. As the level of degree increases, the percentage also increases.
- Rank Differential: Each rank is paid a certain percentage more than subordinate officers. It is typically calculated using subordinate officers’ base pay. In the Superiors’ Contract, it was to be calculated using subordinate officers’ inflated base pay.
- Ratification: A process by which union members vote to accept or reject the terms of a collective agreement that a public employer and a union have negotiated.
- Salary Schedule: A salary schedule is a table that shows the salary range each rank of officer can receive. Typically, the top rows list the different ranks with variations of experience. The descending columns show the salary levels.
- Shift Differential: Additional compensation for working a night shift. The shift differential is a percentage of an officer’s base pay.
- Specialty Position: A position within the police department that requires specialized training and experience. It includes the canine, narcotic, traffic, and school resource officers as well as detectives.
- Stipends: A payment meant to reimburse officers for certain expenses related to the job (e.g., uniforms, cleaning of uniforms).
- Total Compensation: The sum of an officer’s base pay and any stipend, allowances and incentives. Stipends, allowances and incentives can include uniform allowances, rank differential, shift differential, cost-of-living adjustments, longevity pay, educational incentives and holiday compensation.
- Uniform Allowances: This refers to two related allowances. First, the uniform allowance is a lump-sum payment for the purchase of new uniforms. Second, the uniform cleaning allowance is a lump-sum payment for cleaning an officer’s uniform.
Additional Resources
Open PDF file, 12.1 MB,
Leadership Failures in Methuen Police Contracts
(English, PDF 12.1 MB)
| Date published: | December 23, 2020 |
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