State Tells Jurists That Initial Salary Increases Are Unlikely During Next Fiscal Year

Wednesday, October 22, 2025

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State Tells Jurists That Initial Salary Increases Are Unlikely During Next Fiscal Year

By a MetNews Staff Writer

The Personal Management Division of the California Department of Human Resources has announced that jurists in California are unlikely to receive an initial increase to statutory salaries for the upcoming fiscal year, saying that the freeze in compensation is mandated by a statute tying judicial pay to rates paid to other public employees.

In a single-page letter, dated October 17 and addressed to the Judicial Council of California, Exempt Program Manager Manpreet Singh wrote:

“Per Government Code section 6803…this letter is to inform the…Council that the initial calculation conducted by the California Department of Human Resources’ (CalHR), Financial Management Division for the July 1, 2025 general salary increase resulted in a negative percentage. Therefore, there will be no initial increase to statutory judicial salaries for FY 2025-2026. Upon finalization and ratification of all relevant salary changes for state employees, CalHR will conduct its final calculation and inform you of the results.”

Government Code §6803(a) specifies:

“[T]he salary of each justice and judge…shall be increased by the amount that is produced by multiplying the then current salary of each justice or judge by the average percentage salary increase for the current fiscal year for California state employees; provided, that in any fiscal year in which the Legislature places a dollar limitation on salary increases for state employees the same limitation shall apply to judges in the same manner applicable to state employees in comparable wage categories.”

Subdivision (b) specifies that “the average percentage salary increase for the current fiscal year for…state employees shall be reduced by the average percentage salary decrease resulting from the furlough or enrollment in a personal leave program” and that “if the reduction…results in a percentage that is equal to or less than zero, the salary of each justice and judge…shall not be increased.”

Yesterday, the California Judges Association responded to the letter by issuing a statement to its members attributing the judicial salary freeze to renegotiations entered into by CalHR and state employee groups seeking to achieve “net zero budgetary impact.” In the release, signed by President Jeffrey C. Kauffman, a Solano Superior Court judge, the group wrote:

“Please be assured that CJA is engaged with the Judicial Council and key legislators, as well as with leaders in the Governor’s administration, to address this critically important and equitable issue. We will continue to advocate vigorously for compensation that truly values the service of our justices and judges and preserves the strengths of our courts. Attracting and retaining a diverse and highly qualified judiciary is essential for the future of justice in California.”