Current Status Bill Number:4059 Type of Legislation:General Bill GB Introducing Body:House Introduced Date:19970422 Primary Sponsor:Vaughn All Sponsors:Vaughn, Kelley, Young-Brickell, Mason, Campsen, McKay, Limbaugh, Robinson, Rice, Allison, Haskins, Jordan, Leach, Sandifer, Barrett, Rodgers, Tripp, Lanford and Davenport Drafted Document Number:pt\2963dw.97 Residing Body:House Current Committee:Ways and Means Committee 30 HWM Subject:State employees, considered unclassified when hired after 1997; Public Officers and Employees
Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved
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House 19970422 Introduced, read first time, 30 HWM
referred to Committee
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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:
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.