H 4059 Session 112 (1997-1998)
H 4059 General Bill, By Vaughn, Allison, Barrett, Campsen, Davenport, Haskins,
B.L. Jordan, Kelley, Lanford, Leach, L.H. Limbaugh, Mason, McKay, Rice,
Robinson, Rodgers, Sandifer, Tripp and Young-Brickell
A BILL TO AMEND TITLE 8, CHAPTER 17, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY
ADDING ARTICLE 7 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT ALL STATE EMPLOYEES HIRED AFTER
DECEMBER 31, 1997, BE CONSIDERED UNCLASSIFIED EMPLOYEES, TO PROVIDE
EXCEPTIONS; AND TO AMEND SECTION 8-17-370, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO EXEMPTIONS
FROM THE STATE EMPLOYEE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE, SO AS TO INCLUDE EMPLOYEES HIRED
AFTER DECEMBER 31, 1997.
04/22/97 House Introduced and read first time HJ-10
04/22/97 House Referred to Committee on Ways and Means HJ-10
A BILL
TO AMEND TITLE 8, CHAPTER 17, CODE OF LAWS OF
SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 7 SO AS TO
PROVIDE THAT ALL STATE EMPLOYEES HIRED AFTER
DECEMBER 31, 1997, BE CONSIDERED UNCLASSIFIED
EMPLOYEES, TO PROVIDE EXCEPTIONS; AND TO AMEND
SECTION 8-17-370, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO
EXEMPTIONS FROM THE STATE EMPLOYEE GRIEVANCE
PROCEDURE, SO AS TO INCLUDE EMPLOYEES HIRED
AFTER DECEMBER 31, 1997.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South
Carolina:
SECTION 1. Title 8, Chapter 17 of the 1976 Code is amended by
adding:
"Article 7
Unclassified Employees
Section 8-17-510. (A) It is the purpose of this article to establish
in the State a system of personnel administration which will attract,
select, and retain the best employees based on merit, free from
coercive political influences, with incentives in the form of equal
opportunities for all; which will provide technically competent and
loyal personnel to render impartial service to the public at all times
and to render such service according to the dictates of ethics and
morality; and which will eliminate unnecessary and inefficient
employees. It is specifically the intent of the General Assembly to
promote this purpose by allowing agencies greater flexibility in
personnel management so as to promote the overall effectiveness and
efficiency of state government. To this end, all positions filled after
December 31, 1997, must be included in the unclassified service of
the State Merit System. It is also specifically the intent of the
General Assembly that employees in the classified service prior to
January 1, 1998, shall continue to be covered employees in the
classified service and shall remain subject to the rules and regulations
of the State Merit System so long as they remain in covered positions
or as otherwise provided by law.
(B) In order to achieve these purposes, it is the policy of the State
that agencies all employees, whether included in the classified or
unclassified service, in accordance with the following principles:
(1) assuring fair treatment of applicants and employees in all
aspects of personnel administration without regard to race, color,
national origin, sex, age, disability, religious creed, or political
affiliations. This 'fair treatment' principle includes compliance with
all state and federal equal employment opportunity and
nondiscrimination laws;
(2) recruiting, selecting, and advancing employees on the basis
of their relative ability, knowledge, and skills, including open
consideration of qualified applicants for initial employment;
(3) providing equitable and adequate compensation based on
merit and performance;
(4) training employees, as needed, to assure high quality
performance;
(5) retaining employees on the basis of the adequacy of their
performance, correcting inadequate performance where possible and
appropriate, and separating employees whose performance is
inadequate; and
(6) assuring that employees are protected against coercion for
partisan political purposes and are prohibited from using their official
authority for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of
an election or nomination for office.
(C) With respect to employees in the unclassified service, it is the
responsibility of the State Merit System to perform the following
functions:
(1) establish and maintain a statewide system of pay ranges for
all job classes;
(2) define common job classes, establish associated minimum
qualifications for those classes, and assign those classes to
appropriate pay ranges;
(3) develop and maintain a common employment application
form to be used by all applicants for state employment, which form
may be supplemented as necessary by agencies in seeking
information about agency unique job classes;
(4) serve as the central contact point for all potential employees
to receive application forms, provide information to applicants, refer
applicants to agencies, and make applications available to agencies
for review and consideration;
(5) upon request, develop, validate, or develop and validate
applicant screening devices being utilized by agencies;
(6) upon request, administer screening devices on behalf of
agencies;
(7) make employment related training available to agencies and
allow agencies the opportunity to provide input into the nature and
scope of said training programs;
(8) develop model standards and processes which agencies may
use in developing internal processes for:
(i) defining agency unique job classes, establishing
associated minimum qualifications, and assigning these classes to
appropriate statewide pay ranges; and
(ii) developing and applying applicant screening devices for
all job classes.
(9) audit agencies' processes and report findings as appropriate;
(10) provide technical support and assistance to agencies as
requested; and
(11) maintain and make available to the public at large a
statewide central registry of employment vacancies and job
announcements in state government as provided to the State Merit
System by agencies seeking assistance in filling job vacancies.
(D) With respect to employees in the unclassified service, it is the
responsibility of the employing agency to perform the following
functions:
(1) define agency unique job classes, establish associated
qualifications for those job classes, and assign those job classes to
pay ranges on an appropriate statewide compensation plan;
(2) allocate all agency positions to defined job classes;
(3) recruit and screen applicants for job vacancies;
(4) develop and administer appropriate job applicant screening
devices to ensure the integrity of the hiring process; and
(5) develop policies to ensure compliance with all applicable
employment related state and federal laws.
(E) Subsections (C) and (D) of this section do not apply to any
agency which employs no classified employees as of January 1, 1998.
(F) If agencies do not use a competitive civil service examination
to fill some or all of their unclassified positions, it is expressly the
intent of the General Assembly that appropriate consideration be
given to veterans as defined under Section 44-11-40 in the filling of
job vacancies in this State.
Section 8-17-520. For purposes of this article 'unclassified service'
includes the following officers and employees who are excluded from
the classified service:
(1) members of the General Assembly;
(2) persons elected or appointed by the General Assembly,
employees of the General Assembly, and the Legislative Council,
except as otherwise provided;
(3) officers, officials, and employees comprising the Office of the
Governor, except those officers, officials, and employees already
covered by the State Merit System by law or executive order;
(4) officers, officials, and employees comprising the Office of the
Lieutenant Governor, except as otherwise provided;
(5) officers and officials elected by popular vote and persons
appointed to fill vacancies in elective offices;
(6) members of boards and commissions appointed by the
Governor or the General Assembly;
(7) the heads of departments or agencies appointed by boards or
commissions which have been appointed by the Governor or the
General Assembly, except where specifically included;
(8) justices, judges, officials, officers, and employees of the
judicial branch;
(9) presidents of state supported colleges and universities;
(10) the officers, officials, and employees of the Department of
Transportation, except those officers, officials, and employees
already eligible to be covered by the State Merit System by law or
executive order;
(11) the officers, officials, and employees of the Attorney General's
Office, except those officers, officials, and employees already
covered by the State Merit System by law or executive order;
(12) not more than five positions designated by the head of each
department, bureau, commission, or agency, including those assigned
for administrative purposes only, provided that the agency does not
presently contain five unclassified, full-time, permanent, managerial
positions; and provided, further, that the rights of classified
employees shall not be abridged;
(13) members of the military forces of the State while engaged in
military service;
(14) members of unemployment compensation boards of review
and appeals tribunals representing employer, employee, and the
general public interest;
(15) state and local officials serving ex officio or emeritus and
performing incidental duties;
(16) members of other advisory councils, committees, or similar
bodies within the State Merit System;
(17) part-time or temporary employees rendering medical, nursing,
or other professional, scientific, or technical services who are not
engaged in the performance of administrative duties under the State
Merit System, provided that these employees meet the minimum
requirements of education and experience established by the
appointing authority;
(18) prisoner, inmate, student, or patient help working in or about
institutions;
(19) per diem employees engaged in skilled or unskilled work on
a seasonal or intermittent basis;
(20) commission and contract salesmen and hourly or per diem
skilled and unskilled laborers working at the South Carolina
Commission for the Blind;
(21) positions specifically excluded from classified service by law
or those of a purely policymaking or confidential nature as
recommended by the department head and approved by the
Governor;
(22) time-limited positions established for the purpose of
conducting a specific study, investigation, or project;
(23) additional positions of unique functions;
(24) positions in the class Major assigned to the Uniform Division
of the Department of Public Safety;
(25) the officers, officials, employees, and positions of the
Department of Natural Resources;
(26) the employees in the positions in the job classification of
'clerk, contingency' in the Department of Labor, Licensing and
Regulation who are paid on an hourly basis. These employees shall
continue not to be entitled to other benefits of employment including,
but not limited to, the accrual of annual and sick leave, membership
within the employees' Retirement System of South Carolina, and
inclusion under the health insurance plan for state employees;
(27) the officers, officials, and employees of postsecondary
technical schools which are operated by the State Board for Technical
and Comprehensive Education, except those officers, officials, and
employees already eligible to be covered by the State Merit System
by law or executive order;
(28) the officers, officials, and employees of public schools which
are under the jurisdiction of the State Board of Education, except
those officers, officials, and employees already eligible to be covered
by the State Merit System by law or executive order; and
(29) all positions filled on or after December 31, 1997.
Section 8-17-530. (A) The classified service shall consist of all
positions filled by agencies prior to January 1, 1997, except those
included by law in the unclassified service. These classified
positions are covered by the State Merit System. Any officer or
employee who occupies a covered position under the State Merit
System prior to January 1, 1997, remains in the classified service so
long as the officer or employee remains in a covered position or as
otherwise provided by law.
(B) The unclassified service as defined by Section 8-17-520
consists of all positions in the departments of state government not
included in the classified service under this article and these positions
are not subject to the rules and regulations of the Office of Human
Resources of the State Budget and Control Board .
(C) Exclusion from the classified service does not exclude any
employee, officer, or official from eligibility for membership or
membership applicable in the State Retirement System.
(D) It is the intent of the General Assembly that employees in the
classified service be required to serve a working test period before
they obtain merit system protection and that the successful
completion of this probationary period is part of the employment
examination procedure. Each employee serving in a working test
period must be provided with management review by the appointing
authority within ten calendar days of the date the employee has
completed one-half of the working test period or as near to that date
as is practicable. The management review shall include an evaluation
of the employee's progress and recommendations, if any, for
corrective action. The provision of management review pursuant to
this subsection is solely for the purpose of promoting efficient
management and employee development and may not be interpreted
as granting any additional rights to a working test employee. The
Office of Human Resources is responsible for adopting and amending
rules and regulations establishing the guidelines to be used by the
appointing authority in completing the management review pursuant
to this subsection."
SECTION 2. Section 8-17-370 of the 1976 Code, as last amended
by Act 284 of 1996, is further amended by adding:
"(14) employees hired after December 31, 1997."
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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