The base pay for Iowa’s medical director and state epidemiologist Dr. Caitlin Pedati increased by 45 percent as the current fiscal year began on July 1, records obtained by Bleeding Heartland show. The additional $3,144 that Pedati began receiving per two-week pay period would translate to an extra $81,744 in base salary over twelve months.

The doctor leading the state’s COVID-19 pandemic response also received more than $55,000 in overtime pay from March through early July, even though her job class would not normally be eligible for overtime compensation.

AN UNUSUALLY LARGE RAISE FOR STATE GOVERNMENT

Pedati’s base pay was $7,050.40 per two-week pay period from March through late June. It rose to $10,194.40 during the pay period that ran from June 26 through July 9, according to Department of Administrative Services records. That agency’s spokesperson Tami Wiencek confirmed via email the information reflects raises in the pay period including July 1.

State employees typically receive modest salary increases at the start of a fiscal year. Pedati’s biweekly pay had increased from $6,844.80 when she joined the Iowa Department of Public Health in 2018 to $7,050.40 the following fiscal year. The 30 other state employees whose recent records Bleeding Heartland reviewed–all of whom earn more than $100,000 annually–saw their biweekly pay increase by amounts ranging from $85 to $122 as the 2021 fiscal year began.

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