2,555: Shadow Salary Policy

Revised: May 2021

A “shadow salary” is a compensation record that is created and maintained to track an underlying salary of a faculty member. When a 9-month “B” contract faculty converts to a 12-month “A” contract, a shadow salary is established to track and increment the salary amount that will be used should the faculty member be returned to a 9-month “B” contract. The 9-month salary amount at the time of the change is recorded as the baseline. Each fiscal year, or whenever a salary action occurs, the shadow salary is updated with cost of living increases (COLA), merit, promotion and equity increases specific to the shadow salary. This information is available for reference by the employee in the Additional Data section of their Workday profile and is updated annually by Human Resources.

Additionally, a shadow salary is established when an Academic 9-month “B” contract faculty or 12-month “A” contract converts to an Administrative Faculty position and the faculty member holds tenure. The underlying tenure appointment is specified in the notes in Workday. The 9-month salary amount at the time of the change is recorded as the baseline. Each fiscal year, or whenever a salary action occurs, the shadow salary is updated with cost of living (COLA) increases, merit, promotion, and equity increases specific to the shadow salary. Should the faculty member step down from the administrative position, the salary will be returned to the underlying shadow salary at a 9-month “B” contract including adjustments to the shadow salary while holding the “A” contract position. The difference between the two salaries is considered the compensation associated with the administrative duties. COLA and merit increases impact both the shadow salary and the administrative salary. An academic promotion will impact the shadow salary and may (not required) impact the amount of the administrative salary when negotiated in advance of the appointment. Equity increases may impact the administrative salary only or the shadow salary only. Rarely, but when specified, the equity increase may impact both the shadow salary and the administrative salary.

A shadow salary is established for UNR Med “A” contract faculty who are members of the Performance Compensation Plan (“PCP”) in the Basic Science units. A shadow salary is established to hold and track the salary amount that will be used should the faculty member no longer participate in PCP. Each fiscal year, or whenever a salary action occurs, the shadow salary is updated with cost of living increases (COLA), merit, promotion and equity increases specific to the shadow salary. Any of these salary actions are to be implemented to the shadow salary prior to the calculation of PCP percentages each fiscal year. Once PCP percentages are calculated and approved, Human Resources will initiate the compensation change in Workday. This information is available for reference by the employee in the Additional Data section of their Workday profile and is updated annually by Human Resources.