Reform brings change, merit pay, flexibility

Statewide reform is about to occur, so be informed.

Three years ago Gov. Gary Locke signed a statewide Civil Service Reform Act, which has resulted in a monumental restructuring of that 40-year-old system by the Department of Personnel. On July 1, 2005, the changes resulting from that effort will be implemented. In brief, there are three major changes that will affect Washington State University:

• Higher education and General Government personnel systems statewide will merge into the state’s Civil Service personnel system, providing one set of job classifications, salaries, rules and regulations.

• The total number of job classifications statewide will be reduced from 2,500 (1,500 general government, plus 1,000 higher education) to about 1,080.

• Colleges and departments will have more flexibility in hiring and promoting personnel within the state system.



Salaries and titles

Most new rules adopted under the Personnel System Reform Act were adopted July 29, 2004. The new rules can be viewed at https://hr.dop.wa.gov/hrreform/rules.htm. The rules are titled “Washington Administrative Code 357” and will apply to nonrepresented employees — employees under a union bargaining agreement will follow the rules set out in those contract agreements.

Lisa Gehring, a manager in Human Resource Services, said that titles and class specifications will change for some of the job classifications scheduled for conversion on June 1, 2005. However, the classification conversion “won’t impact salaries at this point.“

The primary goal of the new structure was to combine job classifications, where possible, into a more broadly written occupational category. It also sought to combine duplicate and common classes used in both the general government and higher education systems.

If someone wants to check to see what their new job classification/title will be, there is an online crosswalk at https://hr.dop.wa.gov/hrreform/default.htm, where they can plug in their current position and see their new position/title. If someone feels they have been allocated an improper position or title, the employee or supervisor can request an audit of the position.



More flexible hiring

Human Resources said they will also be offering a new Web-based program titled PeopleAdmin, that will be “much less rigid and much more flexible” when recruiting for classified staff positions. An “exciting” improvement, she said, is that the new system will not limit or require a department to have a given number of candidates to conduct a certified search. “We want departments to hire whomever is the most qualified person,” Gehring said.

Under the initial plan, all of the classification changes were to be implemented on June 1, 2005. This timeline, though, has been revised to give agencies and employees more time for a smoother transition. The new plan calls for implementation to be accomplished in multiple phases.

The new timeline for implementing the consolidated job classifications includes three phases spread over five years. To find out more about the actual timeline go to https://hr.dop.wa.gov/hrreform/classplan.htm.



Merit pay and overtime

Several other changes include:

• Merit pay. Merit pay — in the form of additional pay or vacation days — can be offered in conjunction with high-level job performance. Human Resource Services is seeking the approval from the Department of Personnel to provide colleges and departments with the opportunity to work with HRS to design systems to reward productivity and achievement of goals and objectives.

• Overtime designation. Another simplification has to do with a position’s designation in regards to overtime pay. After July 1, positions will be designated as either “overtime eligible” or “overtime exempt.” No longer will positions be designated as regular scheduled, alternate, nonscheduled or excepted work period employees.

• Overtime calculations. When calculating overtime (more than 40 work hours per week), all paid leave is currently considered part of a person’s work hours. In the future, that changes. Actual hours of work and holiday leave will be considered hours of work for purposes of calculating overtime.

• Sick leave reinstated. Former state employees who are re-employed within three years currently have their sick leave reinstated. After July 1 that period will be extended to five years.

• Vacation leave accrual. After July 1, vacation leave accrual for employees in their fifth through seventh year will receive 10 hours per month of vacation. Those with eight to 10 years will receive 10.67 hours of vacation per month.

• Jury duty fees. Employees who serve on jury duty will no longer need to declare that income with WSU, instead they will be able to keep that money.

Upcoming Civil Service Reform information sessions are slated for 9-11 a.m. on May 13, 17, 24 and 25. Those interested can sign up online at https://www.hrs.wsu.edu. Or, you can view a Civil Service Reform information session via videostreaming at https://www.hrs.wsu.edu and click on the Civil Service videostream located under “News and Events.”

If you have questions regarding Civil Service Reform, contact Human Resource Services at 335-4521.