Salary Increases for TDOC Staff Approved After COVID-19 Delay

NASHVILLE – After COVID-19 delayed pay raises for Tennessee Department of Correction Probation and Parole Officers (PPOs), Commissioner Tony Parker has announced that the well-deserved salary increases will occur, effective July 1, 2021.

This investment provides not only a significant increase to starting salaries for new PPOs, but also provides funding to ensure every staff member in the probation/parole series receives at least a 7.5 percent increase to their current salary.

The proposal was originally announced in 2019 by Governor Lee and the General Assembly, however, COVID-19 caused significant delays in approval and implementation.

In a memo sent to staff yesterday, Commissioner Parker wrote, “Our Probation/Parole staff supervise more than 70,000 people in our communities.  Each day, they carry out our mission of effective community supervision by ensuring those under our correctional control are compliant with following directives.  These raises are worthy of the work they do each day to make Tennessee a safer place to live and raise a family.”

Salary increases for PPOs are just one of the components in TDOC’s recruitment and retention initiative.  In April, TDOC began offering a $5,000 hiring bonus for newly hired Correctional Officers (COs).  Additionally, the department offered a $4,000 retention bonus to current COs in an effort to retain the qualified staff who work in Tennessee’s prisons each day, and a $1,000 bonus to any TDOC employees who recruits a new CO.