The Classification and Pay Section is responsible for ensuring that the State's classification and pay plans meet the requirements of the merit principle as set forth in the Personnel Act (AS 39.25): 1) a classification system founded on a grouping of positions based on duties and responsibilities, and 2) an integrated pay plan based on the principle of "like pay for like work." Under the broad authority granted to the Director, the Division of Personnel directs, audits, performs, participates in or contracts for all classification and compensation decisions for positions in the classified and partially exempt services.

The Classification staff provides professional reviews, analyses, recommendations and final actions on behalf of the Division of Personnel regarding substantive classification and compensation matters and assists and advises agency management and operational staff in these areas. These activities concern chiefly individual position allocations and classification studies affecting one or more job classifications. The staff is primarily involved with job analysis and position classification, creation and maintenance of job class specifications, establishing minimum qualifications and assigning pay grades to job classes.

Division of Personnel classifiers conduct studies independently or as a member of a collaborative work team. Studies typically involve the following steps:

• Identification of the issues to be addressed
• Collection and analysis of job information such as duties and responsibilities, reporting relationships, and skill requirements
• Structuring of job classes and job class series
• Collection and analysis of data concerning internal alignment
• Preparation of written analyses and recommendations
• Allocation of affected positions