AB 507

This bill makes numerous changes to the state civil service system, including all of the following:

The hiring process

1. The bill replaces competitive procedures with competitive examinations. Under the bill, appointments to and promotions in the classified service must be made according to merit and fitness, based on competitive examinations.

2. The bill provides a preference system for veterans under which veterans and qualifying spouses of veterans receive preference points, which are applied during the process of creating a certification list for a position. Under current law, if a veteran or qualifying spouse of a veteran is included on a certification list, the appointing authority must offer an interview to the veteran or spouse of a veteran.

3. Under current law, before making an offer of employment to an individual who currently holds a position in the civil service, an appointing authority must review the individual’s personnel file. The bill repeals that requirement.

4. The bill changes the general deadline for making appointments from 30 days after certification to 60 days after certification. The bill also requires the director of the Bureau of Merit Recruitment and Selection to use procedures designed to certify applicants for a vacant permanent position within 45 days of receiving a request from an appointing authority, rather than the 30-day deadline under current law.

Probation, reinstatement, restoration, and layoffs

1. The bill changes the standard probationary period for all original and promotional appointments to permanent and seasonal positions in the classified service from one year to six months. The bill also changes the probationary period for employees in supervisory or management positions from one year to one year with a potential waiver after six months.

2. The bill allows permanent classified service employees who leave the classified service without any delinquency or misconduct to have reinstatement privileges for a five-year period from the date the employee leaves the classified service. Under current law, there are no reinstatement privileges for permanent classified service employees who leave the classified service without any delinquency or misconduct for reasons other than layoff. The bill also provides reinstatement privileges for an employee who leaves the classified service to fill an elective position, which is not allowed under current law.

3. The bill provides restoration rights to a permanent employee in the classified service who is on layoff status for the three-year period following the layoff.

4. The bill allows appointing authorities to determine the order of layoff by seniority, performance, any combination of seniority and performance, or other factors. Under current law, appointing authorities must determine layoff status primarily based on job performance.

Just cause and discipline

1. The bill allows an employer to remove, suspend without pay, discharge, reduce the base pay of, or demote (take an adverse employment action against) a permanent classified employee and certain assistant district attorneys and assistant state public defenders only for just cause. The bill eliminates the provision that an employer has just cause to take an adverse employment action against an employee for work performance or personal conduct that an appointing authority determines to be inadequate, unsuitable, or inferior, but only after the appointing authority imposes progressive discipline that complies with standards established by the administrator of the Division of Personnel Management. The bill also eliminates the provision that an employer has just cause to take an adverse employment action against an employee without imposing progressive discipline for specific conduct.

2. The bill changes the threshold for considering an employee’s position abandoned and disciplining the employee for failing to report for work as scheduled without contacting a supervisor from three working days during a calendar year to five consecutive working days.