S-1642               _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 5876

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1989 Regular Session

By Senators Pullen, Warnke and Vognild

Read first time 2/14/89 and referred to Committee on  Governmental Operations.

AN ACT Relating to public employment, civil service, and pensions; adding new sections to chapter 41.12 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  The purpose of section 2 of this act is to require the lateral transfer of any county sheriff's employee who, by reason of annexation or incorporation of an unincorporated area of a county, will or is likely to be laid off due to sheriff's department cutbacks resulting from the loss of the unincorporated law enforcement responsibility.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 41.12 RCW to read as follows:

          When any portion of an unincorporated area of a county shall be annexed or incorporated into a municipality, any employee of the sheriff's office of such county who:

          (1) Was, at the time such annexation or incorporation occurred, employed exclusively or principally in performing the powers, duties, and functions which are to be performed by the county sheriff's office;

          (2) Will, as a direct consequence of such annexation or incorporation, be separated from the employ of the county; and

          (3) Meets the minimum standards and qualifications of the municipality;

!ixSuch employee may then transfer his or her employment to the municipal police agency as provided in sections 3 and 4 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.  A new section is added to chapter 41.12 RCW to read as follows:

          (1) An eligible employee may transfer into a municipal civil service system for the police department by filing a written request with the municipal civil service commission of the affected municipality and by giving written notice thereof to the legislative authority of the county.  Upon receipt of such request by the civil service commission the transfer shall be made.  The employee so transferring will:

          (a) Be on probation for the same period as are new employees of the police department;

          (b) Be eligible for promotion after completion of the probationary period;

          (c) Receive a salary at least equal to that of other new employees of the police department; and

          (d) In all other matters, such as retirement and vacation, have, within the municipal civil service system, all the rights, benefits, and privileges that he or she would have been entitled to had he or she been a member of the police department from the beginning of his or her employment with the county.  The county shall, upon receipt of such notice, transmit to the city civil service commission a record of the employee's service with the county which shall be credited to such member as a part of his or her period of employment in the city police department.  The police chief may assign the transferring employee to the police duties he or she feels are in the best interests of the department and the employee.

          (2) Only so many of the transferring employees shall be placed upon the payroll of the municipal police department as the municipality determines are needed to provide an adequate level of law enforcement service.  These employees shall be taken in order of seniority and the remaining employees who transfer as provided in sections 2 through 4 of this act shall head the list of their respective class or job listing in the civil service system in order of their seniority, to the end that they shall be the first to be reemployed in the police department as vacancies become available.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.  A new section is added to chapter 41.12 RCW to read as follows:

          When any portion of an unincorporated area of a county shall be annexed or incorporated into a municipality and as a result thereof layoffs will result in the county sheriff's office, employees so affected shall be notified of their right to transfer and such employees shall have ninety days to transfer his or her employment to the municipality.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5.  A new section is added to chapter 41.12 RCW to read as follows:

          In addition to its other duties prescribed by law, the civil service commission shall promulgate rules as are necessary to provide for the orderly integration of employees of a county sheriff's office to a municipality pursuant to sections 2 through 4 of this act.