No. 31189 (Amendment): R477-4. Filling Positions

DAR File No.: 31189
Filed: 04/25/2008, 09:23
Received by: NL

RULE ANALYSIS

Purpose of the rule or reason for the change:

These amendments remove redundancies and clarify intent. Nonsubstantive changes are also made to comply with rulemaking style.

Summary of the rule or change:

Subsection R477-4-3(2) which reiterates that protected classes shall have opportunity for consideration for available positions is deleted. This is unnecessary language since it is already specified in federal law and Rule R477-15. Language is added to Subsection R477-4-7(1) to clarify that rehire is not a right. In Subsection R477-4-7(1)(a)(ii), "12 months" is changed to "one year" for better clarity in calculation and language is reworked to clarify that an employee rehired within one year of separation is entitled to reinstatement of Program II sick leave.

State statutory or constitutional authorization for this rule:

Section 67-19-6

Anticipated cost or savings to:

the state budget:

There is no impact to state budgets as these amendments merely clarify intent and remove unnecessary language.

local governments:

This rule only affects the executive branch of state government and will have no impact on local governments.

small businesses and persons other than businesses:

This rule only affects the executive brand of state government and will have no impact on other persons.

Compliance costs for affected persons:

This rule only affects agencies of the executive branch of state government.

Comments by the department head on the fiscal impact the rule may have on businesses:

Rules published by the Department of Human Resource Management (DHRM) have no direct effect on businesses or any entity outside state government. DHRM has authority to write rules only to the extent allowed by the Utah Personnel Management Act, Title 67, Chapter 19. This act limits the provisions of career service and these rules to employees of the executive branch of state government. The only possible impact may be a very slight, indirect effect if an agency passes costs or savings on to business through fees. However, it is anticipated that the minimal costs associated with these changes will be absorbed by agency budgets and will have no effect on business. Jeff Herring, Executive Director

The full text of this rule may be inspected, during regular business hours, at the Division of Administrative Rules, or at:

Human Resource Management
Administration
Room 2120 STATE OFFICE BLDG
450 N MAIN ST
SALT LAKE CITY UT 84114-1201

Direct questions regarding this rule to:

J.J. Acker or Tina Sweet at the above address, by phone at 801-537-9096 or 801-538-3761, by FAX at 801-538-3081 or 801-538-3081, or by Internet E-mail at [e-mail] or [e-mail]

Interested persons may present their views on this rule by submitting written comments to the address above no later than 5:00 p.m. on:

06/16/2008

This rule may become effective on:

06/23/2008

Authorized by:

Jeff Herring, Executive Director

RULE TEXT

R477. Human Resource Management, Administration.

R477-4. Filling Positions.

R477-4-1. Authorization to Fill a Position.

Agencies shall have sufficient funds to fill positions that are listed in the Position Management Report. The Executive Director, DHRM, may authorize exceptions to [provisions of ]this rule, consistent with Subsection R477-2-2(1).

The DHRM approved recruitment and selection system is the state's recruitment and selection system for career service positions. Agencies shall use the DHRM approved recruitment and selection system unless an alternate system has been pre-approved by the Department of Human Resource Management.

 

R477-4-3. Career Service Positions.

(1) Selection of a career service employee shall be governed by the following:

(a) DHRM standards and procedures;

(b) career service principles;

(c) equal employment opportunity principles;

(d) Section 52-3-1, employment of relatives;

(e) reasonable accommodation for qualified applicants covered under the Americans With Disabilities Act.[

(2) DHRM shall take affirmative action to ensure that members of legally protected classes have the opportunity to apply and be considered for available positions in state government.]

 

R477-4-4. Order of Selection for Career Service Positions.

(1) Prior to implementing the steps for order of selection, agencies may administer the following personnel actions:

(a) reemployment of a veteran eligible under USERRA;

(b) reassignment or transfer within an agency for the purposes of reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act;

(c) fill a position as a result of return to work from long term disability or workers compensation at the same or lesser salary range;

(d) reassignments made in order to avoid a reduction in force, or for reorganization or bumping purposes;

(e) reassignments, management initiated career mobility, or other movement of qualified career service employees at the same or lesser salary range to better utilize skills or assist management in meeting the organization's mission;

(f) reclassification.

(2) Agencies may carry out all the following steps for recruitment and selection of vacant career service positions concurrently. Appointing authorities [may]shall make appointments according to the following order of selection which applies to all vacant career service positions:

(a) First, agencies shall make appointments from the statewide reappointment register in compliance with Subsection R477-12-3(7) with the names of individuals who meet the position qualifications.

(b) Second, agencies may make appointments within an agency through promotion or through transfer of a qualified career service employee, career mobility assignments to a higher salary range, or conversions from schedule A to schedule B as authorized by Subsection R477-5-1.(3).

(c) Third, agencies may make appointments from a list of qualified applicants certified as eligible for appointment to the position, or from another competitive process pre-approved by the Executive Director, DHRM.

 

R477-4-5. Recruitment for Career Service Positions.

(1) Agencies shall use the DHRM approved recruitment and selection system for all career service position vacancies. This includes recruitments open within an agency, across agency lines, or to the general public. Recruitment shall comply with federal and state laws and DHRM rules and procedures.

(a) In addition to the DHRM required recruitment announcement, all other recruitment announcements shall include the following:

(i) position information about available vacancies;

(ii) information about the DHRM approved recruitment and selection system;

(iii) documented communication regarding examination methods and opening and closing dates, if applicable;

(iv) a strategy for equal employment opportunity, if applicable.

(2) Job information for career service positions shall be announced publicly for a minimum of five working days.

(3) Agencies are required to provide employees with information about the DHRM approved recruitment and selection system.

(4) Recruitment is not required for personnel actions [outlined in]under Subsection R477-4-4(1).

(5) Appointment of an employee from the statewide reappointment register must comply with the order of selection [specified in]under Section R477-4-4.

 

R477-4-6. Transfer and Reassignment.

(1) Positions may be filled by reassigning an employee without a reduction in the current actual wage except [as provided in]under Subsection R477-6-4(5).

(2) The agency that receives a transfer or reassignment of an employee shall verify his career status and that the employee meets the job requirements for the position.

(a) An employee with a disability who is otherwise qualified may be eligible for transfer or reassignment to a vacant position within the agency as a reasonable accommodation measure.

(3) Agencies receiving a transfer or reassignment of an employee shall accept all of that employee's previously accrued sick, annual, and converted sick leave on the official leave records.

(4) A career service employee assimilated from another career service jurisdiction shall accrue leave at the same rate as a career service employee with the same seniority.

(5) A reassignment or transfer may be to one or more of the following:

(a) a different job or position;

(b) a different work location;

(c) a different organizational unit; or

(d) a different agency.

 

R477-4-7. Rehire.

(1) A former career service employee may be eligible for rehire to any career service position for which he is qualified. Rehire is not a right.

(a) A rehired employee must compete through the DHRM approved recruitment and selection system and must serve a new probationary period, as designated in the official job description.

(i) The annual leave accrual rate for an employee who is rehired to a position which receives leave benefits shall be based on all state employment in which the employee was eligible to accrue leave.

(ii) An employee [who is ]rehired within [12 months]one year of separation [to a position which receives sick leave benefits ]shall have [his previously accrued]forfeited sick leave [credit ]reinstated as [p]Program II sick leave.

(b) A rehired employee may be offered any salary within the salary range for the position.

(2) Career Service exempt employees cannot be rehired to career service positions, except as prescribed by Section 67-19-17.

 

R477-4-10. Time Limited Exempt Positions.

The Executive Director, DHRM, may approve the creation and filling of career service exempt positions for temporary, emergency, seasonal, intermittent or other special and justified agency needs. These appointments shall be career service exempt as defined in Section 67-19-15.

(1) Time limited, temporary or seasonal career service exempt appointments, such as schedules AJ and AL, may be made without competitive examination, provided job requirements are met.

(a) The following appointments are temporary, and may not receive benefits:

(i) AJ appointments shall last no longer than 1560 working hours in any consecutive 12 month period.

(b) Appointments under schedules AE, AI and AL shall be career service exempt positions. AE, AI and AL employees may receive benefits on a negotiable basis.

(i) Schedule AL appointments shall work on time limited projects for a maximum of two years or on projects with time limited funding.

(ii) Only schedule A appointments made from a hiring list [as prescribed by]under Subsection R477-4-9 may be considered for conversion to career service.

(2) Appointments to fill an employee's position who is on approved leave without pay shall only be made temporarily.

(3) A time limited agreement shall be signed by the parties.

 

KEY: employment, fair employment practices, hiring practices

Date of Enactment or Last Substantive Amendment: [July 1, 2007]2008

Notice of Continuation: June 9, 2007

Authorizing, and Implemented or Interpreted Law: 67-19-6