Chapter 5: Classification Plan

(a) The Director, on a regular basis, shall present to the Commission at public hearing a Classification Plan consisting of all current classifications in the system including any new or amended jobs added (in accordance with Rule 5.1(c)). Such plan shall consist of job specifications designated by standard titles designed to encompass all positions and jobs in the classified service.

(b) An original classification plan or an amended classification plan shall become effective only after approval by the Commission following public hearing.

(c) The Director may approve amendments to the classification plan on an interim basis as the need for new jobs is identified; and any amendments made more than 15 days prior to the public hearing may be presented to the Commission at public hearing as provided in Rule 5.1(a).

(a) The Director, after consultation with the appointing authorities concerned, shall cause each position to be allocated into its appropriate job and may reallocate positions from job to job.

(b) In making such allocations, the Director shall provide for uniform application of the classification plan to all positions regardless of appointing authority.

(c) No person shall be appointed to any position until it has been officially allocated by the Department of State Civil Service.

(d) Allocation of positions shall be based on those duties being actually certified as true by the appointing authority as stated on the official position description form. Falsification or misrepresentation of duty statements are a violation of Civil Service Rules and any such falsification or misrepresentation cannot support allocation into any job.

(a) The Director shall provide for the systematic review of the classification of each position in the classified service.

(b) An employee affected by the allocation or reallocation of a position to a job shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to have his case reviewed by the Director or by a representative whom he designates. The Director's decision shall be final in these matters unless there is an allegation that his ruling has been discriminatory.

(a) The title of each job shall be the official title of every position allocated to that job and shall be used to the exclusion of all others on all payrolls, budget estimates, and official records and reports pertaining to budget estimates, and official records and reports pertaining to the position, provided

1. That any abbreviation or code symbol approved by the Director may be used to designate a position of a job.
2. That any other working title satisfactory to the appointing authority may be used in connection with matters not having to do with the personnel transactions prescribed by the Director.

(b) No employee shall be appointed, employed, or paid under any title other than that of the job to which the position occupied or to be occupied by him is assigned.

The classification plan consists of the specifications for all jobs officially created and shall have the following force and effect:

(a) The definitions are descriptive and not restrictive. They are intended to indicate the kinds of positions that should be allocated to the various jobs as determined by their duties and responsibilities. The use of a particular expression or illustration as to duties shall not be held to exclude others not mentioned that are of similar kind or quality.

(b) The allocation of a position to a job and the assignment of a job to a pay grade is based on the analysis of duties and responsibilities reported on the official position description by the appointing authority.

(c) Repealed, effective September 7, 1982.

(d) Repealed, effective June 29, 1987.

(a) When a position is reallocated, the incumbent shall be entitled to remain in the position provided that he or she meets the minimum qualification requirements of the job to which the position has been allocated.

(b) When the incumbent does not meet the minimum qualification requirements, the agency can return to, or remove from, the position the duties which caused the reallocation; or the Director shall declare the position a new position.

(c) Repealed July 1, 2013.

(a) When an appointing authority determines it is necessary to restructure an organization to more effectively or efficiently carry out its mission, and this restructuring has the potential to change the allocation of a permanent classified employee to a job title in a pay grade with a lower maximum, he shall submit a plan to the Director outlining his rational business reason for the proposed change and the impact of the change on the incumbent(s) of the affected position(s). This rule shall not apply if the restructuring proposes a reduction in the number of employees in the organization. Such reductions in force shall be conducted in accordance with Chapter 17, Layoffs and Layoff Avoidance Measures.

(b) Position allocations that change as a result of the business reorganization may be effected through reallocation, job correction or the creation of a new position as determined by the Director. Occupied positions shall be reallocated down only in accordance with parts (d), (e) and (f) of these rules.

(c) The business reorganization plan shall be submitted to the Director prior to the proposed effective date. The plan shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, the following documents:

1. proposal outlining the rational business reasons resulting in the reallocation(s) down;
2. position descriptions for all positions;
3. current and proposed organizational charts;

(d) When an appointing authority proposes to lower the allocation of a position occupied by a permanent employee, the Director’s approval is required. The employee shall be given written notice of:

1. the proposed action;
2. the proposed effective date of the action;
3. the business reason for the action; and
4. their opportunity to respond.

This notice must be given at least fifteen (15) calendar days prior to the Director’s approval of the plan.

(e) Approval of Business Reorganization Plans.

The Director may:

1. approve the plan;
2. disapprove the plan;
3. grant interim approval of the plan pending ratification of the Commission at its next regularly scheduled meeting;
4. refer the plan directly to the Commission for consideration at its next regularly scheduled meeting;
5. require the agency to implement a layoff in accordance with Chapter 17.

Upon approval of the business reorganization plan by the Director, the appointing authority shall provide in writing to each employee to be reallocated down a final notice of action and a copy of the Director’s approval letter.

(f) Pay of employees affected by reallocation down shall be red-circled in accordance with Rule 6.15.

(g) Employees whose positions are moved into a lower job classification as a result of the business reorganization shall be eligible to be placed on a Department Preferred Reemployment List (DPRL). Employees on such a list shall be given preferential hiring rights for their department or agency for the job which they occupied prior to the implementation of the business reorganization. Employees shall be ranked in order of length of state service. The employee with the most state service for a given job and parish shall be given the first offer.

1. Eligibility shall be limited to:
1. the agency or department where the reorganization occurred;
2. the employee’s parish of domicile at the time of reorganization and any other parishes he may list for availability;
3. the same job title the employee held prior to the implementation of the reorganization;
4. employees whose most recent official performance evaluation at the time of the reorganization was “exceptional”, “successful” or their equivalents;
5. permanent employees.
2. An employee shall be removed from applicable list(s) when:
1. He is offered a permanent position from the DPRL.
2. He declines or fails to respond to an offer.
3. He is dismissed or resigns to avoid dismissal following the reorganization.
4. The Director determines that a person is not qualified, not available, or upon investigation, not suitable for appointment to the position.
5. His name has been on the list for two (2) years following the effective date of the reorganization.
3. Exceptions to Hiring from the List:
   
   If there is a DPRL, the employee who is first on the list shall be hired first for positions in his career field except when a position is filled by:
1. internal demotion; or
2. restoration of an employee returning from military service in accordance with Rule 23.15.
4. If the job held by the employee immediately prior to the implementation of the reorganization undergoes a change in the minimum qualification requirements or the title or pay range is changed (including one that is changed upward) after the reorganization, at the request of the employee, he may have his name placed on the list for the newly-revised job title. He shall not be required to meet the new qualifications if sufficient evidence is presented to the Director to show, as determined by the Director that he is returning to a job having essentially the same duties he was performing when affected by the reorganization, unless the lacking qualification is one required by law or under a recognized accreditation program.

(h) For rational business reasons, the Director or Commission may make exceptions to these rules.

(i) Permanent employees whose allocation has been moved to a lower classification may have the right to file an appeal to the Civil Service Commission in accordance with Chapter 13 of these Rules.

The Director shall evaluate and/or reevaluate each job in the classification plan to establish its relative value in the classified service. Jobs will be assigned to a pay grade based on the provisions contained in Chapter 6 of these Rules as well as consideration of each job's evaluation.

(a) When the allocation of a position is changed by job correction, the incumbent shall be entitled to remain in the position provided that he or she possesses any license, commission, certification, or accreditation which is established as a minimum qualification.

(b) When the incumbent lacks a required credential, the position shall be declared a new position; the former position shall be deemed abolished and the incumbent shall be removed therefrom by layoff.

Subject to the provisions of Rule 6.29, an appointing authority may participate in a dual career ladder program for selected job series by submitting an agency policy requesting the establishment of a job or jobs to provide a mechanism to implement a dual career ladder program. The agency policy must be approved by the Civil Service Commission prior to implementation. All such programs must comply with the following requirements:

(a) The dual career ladder jobs must be in a field that exhibits one or more of the following characteristics:

1. Requires substantial technical or professional training and expertise beyond the basic level.
2. Is known for rapid innovation.
3. Possesses the potential for employees to receive national credentials or licenses.

(b) Such a program shall be implemented in accordance with written policies and procedures approved by the State Civil Service Director.

1. Repealed July 1, 2013.
2. Repealed July 1, 2013.
3. Repealed July 1, 2013.
4. Repealed July 1, 2013.
5. Repealed July 1, 2013.

(c) Amendments to policies by an agency must be submitted for prior approval by the Civil Service Commission.

(d) Repealed effective July 1, 2018.

(e) Repealed effective July 1, 2018.

(f) Repealed effective July 1, 2018.

(g) Repealed effective July 1, 2018.