Title: An act relating to state employees.

Brief Description: Concerning the periodic increment date for state employees returning to work after military service.

Sponsors: By House Committee on State Government Operations & Accountability (originally sponsored by Representatives Nixon and Talcott).

Brief History:

State Government Operations & Accountability: 1/18/06, 1/20/06 [DPS].

Floor Activity:

Passed House: 1/25/06, 98-0.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS & ACCOUNTABILITY

Majority Report: The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass. Signed by 8 members: Representatives Haigh, Chair; Green, Vice Chair; Clements, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Hunt, McDermott, Miloscia, Schindler and Sump.

Staff: Marsha Reilly (786-7135).

Background:

The Department of Personnel is responsible for adopting rules regarding state employee salary increments. Generally, an employee receives a two-step increase to base salary on the periodic increment date until the employee reaches the top step of the salary range. The periodic increment date is the date that an employee is scheduled to move to a higher salary step within the salary range for the current class.

Summary of Substitute Bill:

When a state employee returns to state employment after being called to active duty with any branch of the U.S. military, he or she must receive credit for the periodic increment date for that time served on active military duty.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Not requested.

Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For: As an employee of the Washington State Department of Transportation, military mobilization has caused a change in my period increment date (PID) twice in the last two years. I am requesting the Legislature's guidance to limit the PID changes for state employees while serving and returning from active duty. Consider the following questions in your deliberations: (1) Shall management be allowed to change an employee's PID if he or she serves less than one year? (2) Shall management be allowed to change an employee's PID if he or she has returned to work by the PID anniversary date? (3) If questions 1 and 2 are yes, shall management recalculate the total days served on multiple mobilizations?

Testimony Against: None.

Persons Testifying: Representative Nixon, prime sponsor; and Brett E. Thompson, Washington State Department of Transportation.

Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: None.