WSR 97-14-100

PROPOSED RULES

PERSONNEL RESOURCES BOARD

[Filed July 2, 1997, 9:47 a.m.]

Original Notice.

Exempt from preproposal statement of inquiry under RCW 34.05.310(4).

Title of Rule: WAC 356-56-115 Salary adjustments, 356-56-205 Movement within Washington Management Service, and 356-56-550 Reduction in force--Agency procedure--Bump options.

Purpose: These rules pertain to salary adjustments, movement, and reduction-in-force within the Washington Management Service.

Statutory Authority for Adoption: Chapter 41.06 RCW.

Statute Being Implemented: RCW 41.06.500.

Summary: The Department of Social and Health Services is proposing this modification to provide the use of the level of responsibilities and duties in addition to, or in place of, evaluation points for various Washington Management Service actions.

Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting: Sharon Peck, 521 Capitol Way South, Olympia, WA, (360) 753-0468; Implementation and Enforcement: Department of Personnel.

Name of Proponent: Department of Social and Health Services, governmental.

Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.

Explanation of Rule, its Purpose, and Anticipated Effects: These rules pertain to salary adjustments, movement, and reduction-in-force within the Washington Management Service. Compensation adjustments in these areas are based on evaluation points. This modification would provide the use of the level of responsibilities and duties in addition to, or in place of, evaluation points for these various actions.

Proposal Changes the Following Existing Rules: See above.

No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. Not required.

Section 201, chapter 403, Laws of 1995, does not apply to this rule adoption. These rules relate to internal government operations that are not subject to violation by a nongovernmental party. Therefore, pursuant to RCW 34.05.328 [(5)](b)(ii), section 201 does not apply.

Hearing Location: Department of Personnel, 521 Capitol Way South, Olympia, WA, on August 12, 1997, at 1:30 p.m.

Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Department of Personnel by August 5, 1997, TDD (360) 753-4107, or (360) 586-0509.

Submit Written Comments to: Sharon Peck, Department of Personnel, P.O. Box 47500, FAX (360) 586-4694, by August 8, 1997.

Date of Intended Adoption: August 13, 1997.

July 2, 1997

Dennis Karras

Director

AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 96-12-004, filed 5/23/96, effective 6/6/96)

WAC 356-56-115 Salary adjustments. (1) Adjustments to the compensation for a position with no change in evaluation points shall not exceed the maximum or fall below the minimum amount set by the director of personnel for the management band. After the initial transition evaluation, salary adjustments initiated by the agency, other than for promotion or demotion, will not normally exceed a total of ten percent for a single fiscal year. Excluded from the ten percent limit on salary increases are annual periodic increments, legislatively approved increases, movement of a position to the minimum of the band, initial transition evaluation adjustments, and promotional increases. Requests for exception may be granted only by the director of personnel. Salary adjustments may be made under the following conditions:

(a) Legislatively directed general and/or special increase;

(b) Documented recruitment and/or retention problems as approved by the agency director or designee;

(c) Documented agency and/or state internal salary relationship problems, as approved by the agency director or designee; or

(d) Progression adjustments may be granted in recognition of the employee's demonstrated growth and development following initial transition, hire, transfer, or a promotion by up to five percent annually, for a maximum total of twenty percent.

(2) Voluntary movement in or to a position of lower evaluation points may result in a salary decrease which exceeds ten percent but does not fall below the minimum amount of the band.

(3) A promotion is the assignment of additional higher level responsibilities which results in higher evaluation points for the same position, or movement to a different position that has a higher level of responsibilities and duties and/or higher evaluation points. Promotional increases may exceed ten percent.

(4) A disciplinary demotion for cause is the assignment of responsibilities which results in a lower level of responsibilities and duties and/or lower evaluation points for the same position, or movement to a different position that has a lower level of responsibilities and duties and/or lower evaluation points. The resulting salary decrease may exceed ten percent and must be in conformance with the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

(5) Involuntary downward movement based on a nondisciplinary reassignment of duties that results in a lower level of responsibilities and duties and/or lower evaluation points for an employee's present position shall not cause a decrease in the employee's current salary. The employee's current salary will be retained until such time as it is exceeded by the Washington management service salary structure or the employee leaves the position.

(6) An agency may provide a lump sum recognition payment within guidelines established by the department of personnel in recognition of documented exceptional work and performance results. Such compensation shall not become a permanent salary increase but is considered to be income for recognizing documented exceptional work and performance results. A payment made as a lump sum for recognition purposes shall be included within the ten percent annual adjustment limitation in the fiscal year in which it is paid.

(7) Salary changes greater than five percent proposed for any group of employees shall require review and approval by the director of personnel.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 41.06.500. 96-12-004, 356-56-115, filed 5/23/96, effective 6/6/96; 95-19-056, 356-56-115, filed 9/15/95, effective 10/16/95. Statutory Authority: Chapter 41.06 RCW and RCW 41.06.500. 94-12-055, 356-56-115, filed 5/27/94, effective 7/1/94; 94-09-012, 356-56-115, filed 4/12/94, effective 5/14/94; 94-01-126, 356-56-115, filed 12/17/93, effective 1/18/94.]

AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 94-12-055, filed 5/27/94, effective 7/1/94)

WAC 356-56-205 Movement within Washington management service. (1) There is no required promotional preference when recruiting and selecting for Washington management service positions. However, an agency may determine, on an individual position basis, if it is in the organization's best interest to limit the candidate pool to those eligible for agency or service-wide promotion.

(2) A transfer is the movement of an employee from one position to a different position or movement of a position from one section, department, or geographical location to another at the same level of responsibilities and duties and/or evaluation points.

(a) An employee and the affected agency or agencies may agree to a transfer within Washington management service, within an agency, or between agencies.

(b) An agency or agencies may transfer an employee or a position with an incumbent to meet client or organizational needs if the new location is within a reasonable commute as defined by the agency.

(c) An agency may transfer a position at any time. However, if the transfer results in an unreasonable commute for the incumbent, and the incumbent does not agree to transfer with the position, the rules on reduction in force as provided in WAC 356-56-550 shall apply.

[Statutory Authority: Chapter 41.06 RCW and RCW 41.06.500. 94-12-055, 356-56-205, filed 5/27/94, effective 7/1/94; 94-01-126, 356-56-205, filed 12/17/93, effective 1/18/94.]

AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 94-12-055, filed 5/27/94, effective 7/1/94)

WAC 356-56-550 Reduction in force--Agency procedure--Bump options. (1) Washington management service employees may be separated due to reduction in force in accordance with the statutes and the agency's reduction in force procedures after at least fifteen calendar days' notice in writing, without prejudice, because of lack of funds or curtailment of work, or good faith reorganization for efficiency purposes, ineligibility to continue in a position which has been reallocated to the Washington General Service, or when there are fewer positions than there are employees entitled to such positions either by statute or within other provisions of these rules.

(2) When exempt employees have statutory rights to return to the Washington management service, such employees first shall be returned to the position selected. If such return causes the total number of employees to exceed the total number of positions to be filled, the least senior person in the position shall have the reduction in force rights prescribed in this section.

(3) Each agency shall develop a reduction in force procedure that is consistent with the following:

(a) For purposes of reduction in force, seniority shall be determined by the definition in WAC 356-05-390. Ties in seniority will be broken by first measuring the employees last continuous time within their current position; if the tie still exists, by measuring the employees last continuous time in their current agency; and if the tie still exists, by lot.

(b) Layoff units will be clearly defined, either geographically or by administrative units or both, so as to limit the disruption of an agency's total operation; but not to unduly restrict the options available to employees with greater seniority. The definition of layoff units may be a series of progressively larger units within an agency when a valid option in lieu of separation cannot be offered to respective employees within a smaller unit.

(c) Options in lieu of separation by reduction in force may be offered by an agency only when such options are in accordance with the agency's reduction in force procedure.

(d) Appointment to vacancies and "bumping" shall occur in accordance with the following:

(i) Appointing authorities will seek within the agency a funded vacant Washington management service position for which the employee has the required job skills, and which is at the same level of responsibility and duties and/or that is at the same evaluation points. If no funded vacancies exist, then the appointing authority shall seek a funded position within the agency at the same or lower level of responsibility and duties and/or at the same or lower evaluation points for which the separated employee has greater seniority, applicable personal work history, and the required job skills. The appointing authority will first look within the current management band for equivalent funded positions which have the same level of responsibility and duties and/or at the same evaluation points, and if none are found, then progressively to positions with a lower level of responsibility and duties and/or lower evaluation points. The appointing authority may consider vacant positions within the agency at higher evaluation points.

(ii) Appointing authorities will consider appropriate Washington general service positions within the agency in the same occupational field with the same or similar salary for which the employee is qualified and has held permanent status, prior to considering appropriate Washington management service positions within the agency which have a lower level of responsibility and duties and/or lower evaluation points and salary.

(iii) Permanent Washington management service employees who have no options for the same or similar positions in the Washington management service, and who have held permanent status in the Washington general service, will be afforded reduction in force rights as provided in chapter 356-30 WAC.

(e) The right to actually "bump" shall be exercised only after the employee to be "bumped" has received at least fifteen calendar days' notice of the scheduled action.

(f) Options of full-time positions will be offered first to full-time employees before part-time positions are offered. For the purpose of these offers, employees who previously accepted part-time positions due to a reduction in force action or to lessen the impact of a reduction in force shall be considered full-time employees.

(g) Seniority for part-time employees will be computed using the same percentage the part-time schedule bears to a full-time schedule. When part-time employees become full-time employees, their payroll hours will be integrated on a comparable time basis as full-time employees.

(h) No permanent employee shall be separated through reduction in force without being offered acting positions for which the agency determines the employee is qualified.

(i) The salary of an employee who accepts a position with lower evaluation points shall be determined by the agency.

[Statutory Authority: Chapter 41.06 RCW and RCW 41.06.500. 94-12-055, 356-56-550, filed 5/27/94, effective 7/1/94; 94-01-126, 356-56-550, filed 12/17/93, effective 1/18/94.]