What Is a Merit Salary Adjustment (MSA) in California State Jobs?

Every California state classification has a published salary range: a minimum and a maximum on the CalHR pay scales. You usually start at the minimum. A merit salary adjustment (MSA) is how you move up that range: a raise of one step (5%) for each year of satisfactory work, until you reach the maximum. (For how ranges and steps are laid out, see how to read California state pay scales.)

The rule comes from two places:

• Government Code §19832(a): "After completion of the first year in a position, each employee shall receive a merit salary adjustment equivalent to one of the intermediate steps during each year when they meet the standards of efficiency as the department by rule shall prescribe."
• 2 CCR §599.683, the regulation that sets the mechanics. If the appointing authority certifies that "the employee has met the standards of efficiency required for the position," an employee "who is not paid at the maximum step of the salary range shall receive a merit salary adjustment equivalent to one step in the salary range," as long as it doesn't exceed the maximum.

Note the word shall. An MSA isn't a bonus your manager decides to hand out. If you're below the maximum and your supervisor certifies your performance meets the standard, the raise is required. That's why people often describe MSAs as close to automatic for employees who are doing their jobs.

An MSA is also different from a General Salary Increase (GSI). A GSI is an across-the-board raise negotiated in your union contract that moves the whole salary range up, including the maximum. An MSA moves you up within the range. They stack, though a GSI can be delayed by bargaining: SEIU Local 1000's 2025 side letter deferred the 3% GSI due July 1, 2026 to July 1, 2027. For the bigger picture of state pay and benefits, see California state job salaries and benefits.

Under 2 CCR §599.683(a), you're eligible for an MSA after twelve months of qualifying service following any of these:

1. Your appointment
2. Your last MSA
3. Your last special in-grade salary adjustment
4. A move between classes that raised your salary by one step or more

The raise takes effect "on the first of the monthly pay period next following completion" of those 12 months. That effective date is your salary anniversary date, and future MSAs come every 12 qualifying months after it.

What counts as a qualifying month. The state's pay periods are monthly. Under 2 CCR §599.608, a pay period counts as a full month of service if you had 11 or more working days of service in it. That's why two people hired a week apart can end up with anniversary dates a month apart: a start late in a month may not give you 11 working days in that first pay period.

Probation isn't the trigger. The clock is 12 qualifying months from appointment. Passing a 6-month probation doesn't by itself bring a raise; your first MSA arrives when the 12 months are complete.

Absences. 2 CCR §599.687 sets how breaks affect the count:

• Time away after a permanent separation (such as a resignation) doesn't count as qualifying service.
• Military leave, time on temporary disability under GC §19991.4, and paid educational leave do count.
• Qualifying months immediately before and after a temporary separation are added together, so the clock pauses rather than restarts.
• A pay period with a temporary separation of 11 working days or less can be disqualified only if your supervisor certifies the absence affected your ability to meet the standard that month.
• After a permanent separation, the department may, at its discretion, add together the qualifying months before and after the break.

Limited-term and temporary time. 2 CCR §599.682 counts time in a permanent appointment automatically, as long as it's in the same class or one with substantially the same or higher salary range. Temporary or limited-term time counts automatically only when it precedes a mandatory reinstatement. Otherwise it's up to the department: it may credit a temporary or limited-term appointment filling a permanent position, or one followed by a permanent appointment with no break in service. If you're converting from a limited-term job, ask HR how your months will be credited. (More on that in limited term vs. permanent state jobs.)

PLP 2025. If you're represented by SEIU Local 1000, you're in the Personal Leave Program 2025 from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2027 (5 hours of PLP a month in exchange for a 3% pay reduction). The side letter says PLP 2025 hours don't "count as service towards a merit salary adjustment." Five hours a month won't drop a pay period below the 11-working-day threshold, so in practice it rarely changes your MSA date. Other units have had their own PLP side letters, so check yours.

An MSA can be withheld if your supervisor certifies that you haven't met the standards of efficiency for the position. Start with your MOU. GC §19832(c) says that when a bargaining unit's memorandum of understanding conflicts with the Government Code rules, the MOU controls, and most rank-and-file MOUs have their own MSA article. SEIU Local 1000's MOU, which covers many administrative classes such as Analyst I, Analyst II, and Office Technician, is a good example. Section 11.7 says "The employee shall be informed in writing of denial ten (10) working days prior to the proposed effective date of the MSA" and "Denial of the MSA shall be subject to the grievance and arbitration procedure." If your MOU has a clause like that, its grievance deadlines are the ones to watch. Your MOU is posted on CalHR's website, and your union rep can tell you which process applies.

Where no MOU provision applies, 2 CCR §599.684 sets the default process:

• You must be told why first. "An employee whose merit salary adjustment will not be recommended by the supervisor shall be informed of the reasons for such action before the certification is made by the supervisor."
• It normally isn't reconsidered for at least three months. After a denial, "the adjustment shall not normally be considered again in less than three months."
• You have 10 days to ask for reconsideration. Within 10 days of being told, you can file a written request with your department "under the agency's grievance procedure."
• Then 15 days to appeal to CalHR. After you've used the department's process, you can appeal to CalHR within 15 days. The department's decision is upheld "if supported by substantial evidence," so documentation matters on both sides.

If you're a supervisor, manager, or other employee excluded from collective bargaining, GC §19832(b) gives you a written-notice right too: you must be "informed in writing of a merit salary adjustment denial 10 working days before the proposed effective date of the adjustment."

A denial usually doesn't come out of nowhere. If your performance has been flagged in writing or in a probation report, that's the time to ask your supervisor what meeting the standard looks like, before the anniversary date arrives.

Budget shortfalls are different. GC §19834 makes automatic salary adjustments conditional on there being money in the appropriation. If the state ever withholds MSAs for lack of funds, GC §19835 says your right to them is "cumulative for a period not to exceed two years," so you don't lose those steps. This is rare. Recent budgets haven't suspended MSAs; they've told departments to absorb MSA costs within existing budgets. A delay for budget reasons is not a judgment about your performance.

Promotion. When you move without a break in service to a class with a higher salary range, 2 CCR §599.676 entitles you to "the rate in the salary range one step above the rate last received." A move that raises your pay by one step or more starts a new 12-month MSA clock (§599.683(a)(4)), so your next MSA comes on the first of the pay period after 12 qualifying months in the new class.

A smaller increase means a shorter wait. If a move raises your pay by less than one step, §599.683(b) shortens the wait for your next MSA in proportion. CalHR's Pay Scales Section 9 lays out the schedule. For example, an increase of 2.6% to 3.0% means your next MSA comes after 7 qualifying pay periods, not 12.

Lateral transfer. If you transfer to a class or department at the same pay with no salary increase, you retain your anniversary date (2 CCR §599.674 and Pay Scales Section 9), and your MSA clock keeps running. A move between similar ranges can sometimes come with a raise of up to one step. If it does, a new anniversary date is set, and the shorter-wait schedule above applies. (For which moves count as transfers, see how to transfer between California state departments.)

Top step. Once you're at the maximum of your range, there are no more MSAs. The regulation only applies to an employee "who is not paid at the maximum step." From there, your pay grows through:

• General Salary Increases in your union contract, which raise the maximum itself
• Special salary adjustments for specific classifications, also typically bargained
• Promotion to a higher classification with a higher ceiling
• Alternate ranges in some classifications (Analyst I has Ranges A, B, and C), where meeting the criteria in Pay Scales Section 11 moves you to a higher range. The criteria for each class also say what salary and MSA timing you get on the move.

How many MSAs you'll get before top step depends on how wide your range is. Check the classification's minimum and maximum on the CalHR pay scale and divide by 5% steps to estimate it.

• Know your anniversary date. Your HR office or personnel specialist can confirm it.
• Watch your pay warrant the month after your anniversary. The MSA should show up as a higher base rate effective the first of that pay period. If it doesn't, ask HR. Processing errors happen, especially after a transfer or a range change.
• Know your MOU's MSA article. It controls if it conflicts with the Government Code. CalHR posts every current MOU.
• If you're on an alternate range, check Pay Scales Section 11 for the criteria. Moving to the next range can affect your rate and anniversary date differently from an MSA.

If you're still applying and not yet hired: every posting shows the classification's full range. Plan on starting at the minimum and moving up one step a year. That gives you a realistic picture of your pay over the first several years.