6767-S

AN ACT Relating to establishing procedures for compensation modifications for state employees under chapter 41.06 RCW; amending RCW 41.06.150, 41.06.070, and 41.06.500; and adding a new section to chapter 41.06 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 41.06 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The board shall adopt only those job classification revisions, class studies, and salary adjustments under RCW 41.06.150(15) that:

(a) Are due to documented recruitment and retention difficulties, salary compression or inversion, increased duties and responsibilities, or inequities. For these purposes, inequities are defined as similar work assigned to different job classes with a salary disparity greater than 7.5 percent; and

(b) Are such that the office of financial management has reviewed the agency's fiscal impact statement and has concurred that the agency can absorb the biennialized cost of the reclassification, class study, or salary adjustment within the agency's current authorized level of funding for the current fiscal biennium and subsequent fiscal biennia.

(2) In addition to reclassifications, class studies, and salary adjustments under subsection (1)(b) of this section, the board may approve other reclassifications, class studies, and salary adjustments that meet the requirements of subsection (1)(a) of this section and have been approved under the procedures established under this subsection.

Before the department of personnel's biennial budget request is due to the office of financial management, the board shall prioritize requests for reclassifications, class studies, and salary adjustments for the next fiscal biennium. The board shall prioritize according to such criteria as are developed by the board consistent with RCW 41.06.150(15)(a).

The board shall submit the prioritized list to the governor's office and the fiscal committees of the house of representatives and senate at the same time the department of personnel's biennial budget request is submitted. The office of financial management shall review the biennial cost of each proposed salary adjustment on the board's prioritized list.

In the biennial appropriations acts, the legislature may establish a level of funding, from the state general fund and other accounts, to be applied by the board to the prioritized list. Upon enactment of the appropriations act, the board may approve reclassifications, class studies, and salary adjustments only to the extent that the total cost does not exceed the level of funding established in the appropriations acts and the board's actions are consistent with the priorities established in the list. The legislature may also specify or otherwise limit in the appropriations act the implementation dates for actions approved by the board under this section.

(3) This section does not apply to the higher education hospital special pay plan or to any adjustments to the classification plan under RCW 41.06.150(15) that are due to emergent conditions. Emergent conditions are defined as emergency conditions requiring the establishment of positions necessary for the preservation of the public health, safety, or general welfare.

Sec. 2. RCW 41.06.150 and 1995 2nd sp.s. c 18 s 911 are each amended to read as follows:

The board shall adopt rules, consistent with the purposes and provisions of this chapter, as now or hereafter amended, and with the best standards of personnel administration, regarding the basis and procedures to be followed for:

(1) The reduction, dismissal, suspension, or demotion of an employee;

(2) Certification of names for vacancies, including departmental promotions, with the number of names equal to six more names than there are vacancies to be filled, such names representing applicants rated highest on eligibility lists: PROVIDED, That when other applicants have scores equal to the lowest score among the names certified, their names shall also be certified;

(3) Examinations for all positions in the competitive and noncompetitive service;

(4) Appointments;

(5) Training and career development;

(6) Probationary periods of six to twelve months and rejections of probationary employees, depending on the job requirements of the class, except that entry level state park rangers shall serve a probationary period of twelve months;

(7) Transfers;

(8) Sick leaves and vacations;

(9) Hours of work;

(10) Layoffs when necessary and subsequent reemployment, both according to seniority;

(11) Determination of appropriate bargaining units within any agency: PROVIDED, That in making such determination the board shall consider the duties, skills, and working conditions of the employees, the history of collective bargaining by the employees and their bargaining representatives, the extent of organization among the employees, and the desires of the employees;

(12) Certification and decertification of exclusive bargaining representatives: PROVIDED, That after certification of an exclusive bargaining representative and upon the representative's request, the director shall hold an election among employees in a bargaining unit to determine by a majority whether to require as a condition of employment membership in the certified exclusive bargaining representative on or after the thirtieth day following the beginning of employment or the date of such election, whichever is the later, and the failure of an employee to comply with such a condition of employment constitutes cause for dismissal: PROVIDED FURTHER, That no more often than once in each twelve-month period after expiration of twelve months following the date of the original election in a bargaining unit and upon petition of thirty percent of the members of a bargaining unit the director shall hold an election to determine whether a majority wish to rescind such condition of employment: PROVIDED FURTHER, That for purposes of this clause, membership in the certified exclusive bargaining representative is satisfied by the payment of monthly or other periodic dues and does not require payment of initiation, reinstatement, or any other fees or fines and includes full and complete membership rights: AND PROVIDED FURTHER, That in order to safeguard the right of nonassociation of public employees, based on bona fide religious tenets or teachings of a church or religious body of which such public employee is a member, such public employee shall pay to the union, for purposes within the program of the union as designated by such employee that would be in harmony with his or her individual conscience, an amount of money equivalent to regular union dues minus any included monthly premiums for union-sponsored insurance programs, and such employee shall not be a member of the union but is entitled to all the representation rights of a union member;

(13) Agreements between agencies and certified exclusive bargaining representatives providing for grievance procedures and collective negotiations on all personnel matters over which the appointing authority of the appropriate bargaining unit of such agency may lawfully exercise discretion;

(14) Written agreements may contain provisions for payroll deductions of employee organization dues upon authorization by the employee member and for the cancellation of such payroll deduction by the filing of a proper prior notice by the employee with the appointing authority and the employee organization: PROVIDED, That nothing contained herein permits or grants to any employee the right to strike or refuse to perform his or her official duties;

(15) Adoption and revision of a comprehensive classification plan for all positions in the classified service, based on investigation and analysis of the duties and responsibilities of each such position.

(a) The board shall not adopt job classification revisions or class studies unless implementation of the proposed revision or study will result in net cost savings, increased efficiencies, or improved management of personnel or services, and the proposed revision or study has been approved by the director of financial management in accordance with chapter 43.88 RCW.

(b) Beginning July 1, 1995, through June 30, 1997, in addition to the requirements of (a) of this subsection:

((~~(a)~~)) (i) The board may approve the implementation of salary increases resulting from adjustments to the classification plan during the 1995-97 fiscal biennium only if:

((~~(i)~~)) (A) The implementation will not result in additional net costs and the proposed implementation has been approved by the director of financial management in accordance with chapter 43.88 RCW;

((~~(ii)~~)) (B) The implementation will take effect on July 1, 1996, and the total net cost of all such actions approved by the board for implementation during the 1995-97 fiscal biennium does not exceed the amounts specified by the legislature specifically for this purpose; or

((~~(iii)~~)) (C) The implementation is a result of emergent conditions. Emergent conditions are defined as ((~~newly mandated programs for which moneys are not appropriated,~~)) emergency situations requiring the establishment of positions necessary for the preservation of the public health, safety, or general welfare, ((~~and related issues~~)) which do not exceed $250,000 of the moneys identified in section 718(2), chapter 18, Laws of 1995 2nd sp. sess.

(((b) The board may approve the implementation of salary increases resulting from adjustments to the classification plan for implementation in the 1997-99 fiscal biennium only if the implementation will not result in additional net costs or the implementation has been approved by the legislature in the omnibus appropriations act or other legislation.

~~(c)~~)) (ii) The board shall approve only those salary increases resulting from adjustments to the classification plan if they are due to documented recruitment and retention difficulties, salary compression or inversion, increased duties and responsibilities, or inequities. For these purposes, inequities are defined as similar work assigned to different job classes with a salary disparity greater than 7.5 percent.

((~~(d)~~)) (iii) Adjustments made to the higher education hospital special pay plan are exempt from ((~~(a) through (c)~~)) (b)(i) through (ii) of this subsection;

(c) Reclassifications, class studies, and salary adjustments to be implemented during the 1997-99 and subsequent fiscal biennia are governed by (a) of this subsection and section 1 of this act.

(16) Allocation and reallocation of positions within the classification plan;

(17) Adoption and revision of a state salary schedule to reflect the prevailing rates in Washington state private industries and other governmental units but the rates in the salary schedules or plans shall be increased if necessary to attain comparable worth under an implementation plan under RCW 41.06.155 and that, for institutions of higher education and related boards, shall be competitive for positions of a similar nature in the state or the locality in which an institution of higher education or related board is located, such adoption and revision subject to approval by the director of financial management in accordance with the provisions of chapter 43.88 RCW;

(18) Increment increases within the series of steps for each pay grade based on length of service for all employees whose standards of performance are such as to permit them to retain job status in the classified service;

(19) Providing for veteran's preference as required by existing statutes, with recognition of preference in regard to layoffs and subsequent reemployment for veterans and their surviving spouses by giving such eligible veterans and their surviving spouses additional credit in computing their seniority by adding to their unbroken state service, as defined by the board, the veteran's service in the military not to exceed five years. For the purposes of this section, "veteran" means any person who has one or more years of active military service in any branch of the armed forces of the United States or who has less than one year's service and is discharged with a disability incurred in the line of duty or is discharged at the convenience of the government and who, upon termination of such service has received an honorable discharge, a discharge for physical reasons with an honorable record, or a release from active military service with evidence of service other than that for which an undesirable, bad conduct, or dishonorable discharge shall be given: PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That the surviving spouse of a veteran is entitled to the benefits of this section regardless of the veteran's length of active military service: PROVIDED FURTHER, That for the purposes of this section "veteran" does not include any person who has voluntarily retired with twenty or more years of active military service and whose military retirement pay is in excess of five hundred dollars per month;

(20) Permitting agency heads to delegate the authority to appoint, reduce, dismiss, suspend, or demote employees within their agencies if such agency heads do not have specific statutory authority to so delegate: PROVIDED, That the board may not authorize such delegation to any position lower than the head of a major subdivision of the agency;

(21) Assuring persons who are or have been employed in classified positions before July 1, 1993, will be eligible for employment, reemployment, transfer, and promotion in respect to classified positions covered by this chapter;

(22) Affirmative action in appointment, promotion, transfer, recruitment, training, and career development; development and implementation of affirmative action goals and timetables; and monitoring of progress against those goals and timetables.

The board shall consult with the human rights commission in the development of rules pertaining to affirmative action. The department of personnel shall transmit a report annually to the human rights commission which states the progress each state agency has made in meeting affirmative action goals and timetables.

Sec. 3. RCW 41.06.070 and 1995 c 163 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The provisions of this chapter do not apply to:

(a) The members of the legislature or to any employee of, or position in, the legislative branch of the state government including members, officers, and employees of the legislative council, legislative budget committee, statute law committee, and any interim committee of the legislature;

(b) The justices of the supreme court, judges of the court of appeals, judges of the superior courts or of the inferior courts, or to any employee of, or position in the judicial branch of state government;

(d) The officers of the Washington state patrol;

(e) Elective officers of the state;

(f) The chief executive officer of each agency;

(g) In the departments of employment security and social and health services, the director and the director's confidential secretary; in all other departments, the executive head of which is an individual appointed by the governor, the director, his or her confidential secretary, and his or her statutory assistant directors;

(h) In the case of a multimember board, commission, or committee, whether the members thereof are elected, appointed by the governor or other authority, serve ex officio, or are otherwise chosen:

(i) All members of such boards, commissions, or committees;

(ii) If the members of the board, commission, or committee serve on a part-time basis and there is a statutory executive officer: The secretary of the board, commission, or committee; the chief executive officer of the board, commission, or committee; and the confidential secretary of the chief executive officer of the board, commission, or committee;

(iii) If the members of the board, commission, or committee serve on a full-time basis: The chief executive officer or administrative officer as designated by the board, commission, or committee; and a confidential secretary to the chair of the board, commission, or committee;

(iv) If all members of the board, commission, or committee serve ex officio: The chief executive officer; and the confidential secretary of such chief executive officer;

(i) The confidential secretaries and administrative assistants in the immediate offices of the elective officers of the state;

(j) Assistant attorneys general;

(k) Commissioned and enlisted personnel in the military service of the state;

(l) Inmate, student, part-time, or temporary employees, and part-time professional consultants, as defined by the Washington personnel resources board;

(m) The public printer or to any employees of or positions in the state printing plant;

(n) Officers and employees of the Washington state fruit commission;

(o) Officers and employees of the Washington state apple advertising commission;

(p) Officers and employees of the Washington state dairy products commission;

(q) Officers and employees of the Washington tree fruit research commission;

(r) Officers and employees of the Washington state beef commission;

(s) Officers and employees of any commission formed under chapter 15.66 RCW;

(t) Officers and employees of the state wheat commission formed under chapter 15.63 RCW;

(u) Officers and employees of agricultural commissions formed under chapter 15.65 RCW;

(v) Officers and employees of the nonprofit corporation formed under chapter 67.40 RCW;

(w) Executive assistants for personnel administration and labor relations in all state agencies employing such executive assistants including but not limited to all departments, offices, commissions, committees, boards, or other bodies subject to the provisions of this chapter and this subsection shall prevail over any provision of law inconsistent herewith unless specific exception is made in such law;

(x) In each agency with fifty or more employees: Deputy agency heads, assistant directors or division directors, and not more than three principal policy assistants who report directly to the agency head or deputy agency heads;

(y) All employees of the marine employees' commission;

(z) Up to a total of five senior staff positions of the western library network under chapter 27.26 RCW responsible for formulating policy or for directing program management of a major administrative unit. This subsection (1)(z) shall expire on June 30, 1997.

(2) The following classifications, positions, and employees of institutions of higher education and related boards are hereby exempted from coverage of this chapter:

(a) Members of the governing board of each institution of higher education and related boards, all presidents, vice-presidents and their confidential secretaries, administrative and personal assistants; deans, directors, and chairs; academic personnel; and executive heads of major administrative or academic divisions employed by institutions of higher education; principal assistants to executive heads of major administrative or academic divisions; other managerial or professional employees in an institution or related board having substantial responsibility for directing or controlling program operations and accountable for allocation of resources and program results, or for the formulation of institutional policy, or for carrying out personnel administration or labor relations functions, legislative relations, public information, development, senior computer systems and network programming, or internal audits and investigations; and any employee of a community college district whose place of work is one which is physically located outside the state of Washington and who is employed pursuant to RCW 28B.50.092 and assigned to an educational program operating outside of the state of Washington;

(b) Student, part-time, or temporary employees, and part-time professional consultants, as defined by the Washington personnel resources board, employed by institutions of higher education and related boards;

(c) The governing board of each institution, and related boards, may also exempt from this chapter classifications involving research activities, counseling of students, extension or continuing education activities, graphic arts or publications activities requiring prescribed academic preparation or special training as determined by the board: PROVIDED, That no nonacademic employee engaged in office, clerical, maintenance, or food and trade services may be exempted by the board under this provision;

(d) Printing craft employees in the department of printing at the University of Washington.

(3) In addition to the exemptions specifically provided by this chapter, the Washington personnel resources board may provide for further exemptions pursuant to the following procedures. The governor or other appropriate elected official may submit requests for exemption to the Washington personnel resources board stating the reasons for requesting such exemptions. The Washington personnel resources board shall hold a public hearing, after proper notice, on requests submitted pursuant to this subsection. If the board determines that the position for which exemption is requested is one involving substantial responsibility for the formulation of basic agency or executive policy or one involving directing and controlling program operations of an agency or a major administrative division thereof, the Washington personnel resources board shall grant the request and such determination shall be final as to any decision made before July 1, 1993. The total number of additional exemptions permitted under this subsection shall not exceed one percent of the number of employees in the classified service not including employees of institutions of higher education and related boards for those agencies not directly under the authority of any elected public official other than the governor, and shall not exceed a total of twenty-five for all agencies under the authority of elected public officials other than the governor. The Washington personnel resources board shall report to each regular session of the legislature during an odd-numbered year all exemptions granted under subsections (1)(w) and (x) and (2) of this section, together with the reasons for such exemptions.

The salary and fringe benefits of all positions presently or hereafter exempted except for the chief executive officer of each agency, full-time members of boards and commissions, administrative assistants and confidential secretaries in the immediate office of an elected state official, and the personnel listed in subsections (1)(j) through (v), (y), (z), and (2) of this section, shall be determined by the Washington personnel resources board. However, beginning with changes proposed for the 1997-99 fiscal biennium, changes to the classification plan affecting exempt salaries must meet the same provisions for classified salary increases resulting from adjustments to the classification plan as outlined in section 1 of this act.

Any person holding a classified position subject to the provisions of this chapter shall, when and if such position is subsequently exempted from the application of this chapter, be afforded the following rights: If such person previously held permanent status in another classified position, such person shall have a right of reversion to the highest class of position previously held, or to a position of similar nature and salary.

Any classified employee having civil service status in a classified position who accepts an appointment in an exempt position shall have the right of reversion to the highest class of position previously held, or to a position of similar nature and salary.

A person occupying an exempt position who is terminated from the position for gross misconduct or malfeasance does not have the right of reversion to a classified position as provided for in this section.

Sec. 4. RCW 41.06.500 and 1993 c 281 s 9 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Except as provided in RCW 41.06.070, notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, the director is authorized to adopt, after consultation with state agencies and employee organizations, rules for managers as defined in RCW 41.06.022. These rules shall not apply to managers employed by institutions of higher education or related boards or whose positions are exempt. The rules shall govern recruitment, appointment, classification and allocation of positions, examination, training and career development, hours of work, probation, certification, compensation, transfer, affirmative action, promotion, layoff, reemployment, performance appraisals, discipline, and any and all other personnel practices for managers. These rules shall be separate from rules adopted by the board for other employees, and to the extent that the rules adopted apply only to managers shall take precedence over rules adopted by the board, and are not subject to review by the board.

(2) In establishing rules for managers, the director shall adhere to the following goals:

(a) Development of a simplified classification system that facilitates movement of managers between agencies and promotes upward mobility;

(b) Creation of a compensation system consistent with the policy set forth in RCW 41.06.150(17). The system shall provide flexibility in setting and changing salaries, and shall require review and approval by the director in the case of any salary changes greater than five percent proposed for any group of employees;

(c) Establishment of a performance appraisal system that emphasizes individual accountability for program results and efficient management of resources; effective planning, organization, and communication skills; valuing and managing workplace diversity; development of leadership and interpersonal abilities; and employee development;

(d) Strengthening management training and career development programs that build critical management knowledge, skills, and abilities; focusing on managing and valuing workplace diversity; empowering employees by enabling them to share in workplace decision making and to be innovative, willing to take risks, and able to accept and deal with change; promoting a workplace where the overall focus is on the recipient of the government services and how these services can be improved; and enhancing mobility and career advancement opportunities;

(e) Permitting flexible recruitment and hiring procedures that enable agencies to compete effectively with other employers, both public and private, for managers with appropriate skills and training; allowing consideration of all qualified candidates for positions as managers; and achieving affirmative action goals and diversity in the workplace;

(f) Providing that managers may only be reduced, dismissed, suspended, or demoted for cause; and

(g) Facilitating decentralized and regional administration.