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;
(c) Officers, academic
personnel, and employees of technical colleges;
(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.
