READ FIRST TIME 02/23/09.   

     AN ACT Relating to personnel practices regarding exempt employment; amending RCW 41.06.133 and 41.06.170; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that information technologies have substantially altered the roles and responsibilities of employees in many state agencies since the creation of the Washington management service. With the understanding that the current economic crisis dictates finding every possible efficiency, the legislature intends to review the state's senior management and exempt services and understands that possible refinements in the service are needed. A review, in consultation with the various stakeholders and in light of current best practices, is warranted.

Sec. 2   RCW 41.06.133 and 2002 c 354 s 204 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The director shall adopt rules, consistent with the purposes and provisions of this chapter and with the best standards of personnel administration, regarding the basis and procedures to be followed for:
     (((1))) (a) The reduction, dismissal, suspension, or demotion of an employee;
     (((2))) (b) Training and career development;
     (((3))) (c) 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;
     (((4))) (d) Transfers;
     (((5))) (e) Promotional preferences;
     (((6))) (f) Sick leaves and vacations;
     (((7))) (g) Hours of work;
     (((8))) (h) Layoffs when necessary and subsequent reemployment, except for the financial basis for layoffs;
     (((9))) (i) The number of names to be certified for vacancies;
     (((10))) (j) Adoption and revision of a state salary schedule to reflect the prevailing rates in Washington state private industries and other governmental units. 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, 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 is subject to approval by the director of financial management in accordance with chapter 43.88 RCW;
     (((11))) (k) 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;
     (((12))) (l) Optional lump sum relocation compensation approved by the agency director, whenever it is reasonably necessary that a person make a domiciliary move in accepting a transfer or other employment with the state. An agency must provide lump sum compensation within existing resources. If the person receiving the relocation payment terminates or causes termination with the state, for reasons other than layoff, disability separation, or other good cause as determined by an agency director, within one year of the date of the employment, the state is entitled to reimbursement of the lump sum compensation from the person;
     (((13))) (m) 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 director, 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. However, the surviving spouse of a veteran is entitled to the benefits of this section regardless of the veteran's length of active military service. 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.
     (2) Rules adopted under this section by the director shall provide for local administration and management by the institutions of higher education and related boards, subject to periodic audit and review by the director.
     (3) Rules adopted by the director under this section may be superseded by the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement negotiated under RCW 41.80.001 and 41.80.010 through 41.80.130. The supersession of such rules shall only affect employees in the respective collective bargaining units.
     (4)(a) The director shall require that each state agency report annually the following data:
     (i) The number of classified, Washington management service, and exempt employees in the agency and the change compared to the previous report;
     (ii) The number of bonuses and performance-based incentives awarded to agency staff and the base wages of such employees; and
     (iii) The cost of each bonus or incentive awarded.
     (b) A report that compiles the data in (a) of this subsection for all agencies will be provided annually to the governor and the appropriate committees of the legislature and must be posted for the public on the department of personnel's agency web site.

Sec. 3   RCW 41.06.170 and 2002 c 354 s 213 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The director, in the adoption of rules governing suspensions for cause, shall not authorize an appointing authority to suspend an employee for more than fifteen calendar days as a single penalty or more than thirty calendar days in any one calendar year as an accumulation of several penalties. The director shall require that the appointing authority give written notice to the employee not later than one day after the suspension takes effect, stating the reasons for and the duration thereof.
     (2) Any employee who is reduced, dismissed, suspended, or demoted, after completing his or her probationary period of service as provided by the rules of the director, or any employee who is adversely affected by a violation of the state civil service law, chapter 41.06 RCW, or rules adopted under it, shall have the right to appeal, either individually or through his or her authorized representative, not later than thirty days after the effective date of such action to the personnel appeals board through June 30, 2005, and to the Washington personnel resources board after June 30, 2005. The employee shall be furnished with specified charges in writing when a reduction, dismissal, suspension, or demotion action is taken. Such appeal shall be in writing. Decisions of the Washington personnel resources board on appeals filed after June 30, 2005, shall be final and not subject to further appeal.
     (3) Any employee whose position has been exempted after July 1, 1993, shall have the right to appeal, either individually or through his or her authorized representative, not later than thirty days after the effective date of such action to the personnel appeals board through June 30, 2005, and to the Washington personnel resources board after June 30, 2005. If the position being exempted is vacant, the exclusive bargaining unit representative may act in lieu of an employee for the purposes of appeal.
     (4) An employee incumbent in a position at the time of its allocation or reallocation, or the agency utilizing the position, may appeal the allocation or reallocation to the personnel appeals board through December 31, 2005, and to the Washington personnel resources board after December 31, 2005. Notice of such appeal must be filed in writing within thirty days of the action from which appeal is taken.
     (5) Subsections (1) and (2) of this section do not apply to any employee who is subject to the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement negotiated under RCW 41.80.001 and 41.80.010 through 41.80.130.