HR Handbook – Chapter 3: Duties of the Director of State Civil Service

This chapter summarizes the general duties, responsibilities and authority assigned by the Commission to the State Civil Service Director. It establishes the Director’s authority to act on behalf of the Commission and to establish policies and procedures to implement the rules. The Director is specifically charged with the responsibility and authority to define the procedures agencies must follow in hiring and managing their personnel. Key areas include:

• Hiring/Promotion processes (addressed in Chapters 22 & 23)
• Classification & Pay (addressed in Chapters 5 & 6)
• Affirmative Action Planning (see this Chapter’s Procedures section)
• Contracts for services (see this Chapter’s Procedures section)
• Employee Training programs (see this Chapter’s Procedures section)
• Grievance procedures (see this Chapter’s Procedures section)

This chapter also specifies that the Director serves in a classified position and is competitively selected and appointed by the Commission.

The Commission has empowered the Director to act on its behalf and to establish procedures that agencies must follow in order to comply with the rules. Since the state constitution gives the Civil Service Rules the full force and effect of law, directives issued by the Director pursuant to authority granted to him by the rules also have the full force and effect of law. Agencies must comply with the directives and orders issued by the Director just as they must follow the rules and orders of the Commission.

The procedures included in this Handbook are official directives issued under the authority of the Director. Statewide directives may also be issued through general circulars. Individual directives may be issued in a letter from the Director. All of these forms of directives have the same level of authority as a rule or other act of the Commission.

Rule 3.1 Duties of the Director

This rule lists some of the major responsibilities and powers of the Director. This list is not exclusive; there are many other powers specifically granted to the Director throughout the rules. However the duties listed here provide a general description of the Director’s authority.

(a) The Director is the chief executive officer of the Department of State Civil Service, the equivalent of the position of Secretary in other executive branch departments.

(b) The Director serves as the formal secretary to the Commission, i.e. its official recordkeeper.

(c) The Director is required to maintain a list of all classified employees, including their titles, salary, status and any changes. See Chapter 15.

NOTE: Although it is not mentioned in this rule, La. R.S. 42:291 requires State Civil Service to maintain similar records for all unclassified employees and to regularly publish reports on both classified and unclassified employees.

(d) The Director is the appointing authority of the Department of State Civil Service.

(e) The Director is responsible for establishing and publishing the procedures state agencies must follow in order to comply with the rules. Specific emphasis is placed on overseeing the appointment process, including conducting employment exams and establishing lists of qualified candidates. See Chapter 22 and Chapter 23.

(f) The Director can establish training programs for classified employees. See Procedures: Employee Training and the Comprehensive Public Training Program (CPTP).

NOTE: Also, La. R.S. 42:1261 gives State Civil Service the responsibility for operating the Comprehensive Public Training Program. CPTP information can be found here.

(g) The Director publishes an annual report on the overall activities of the department. The Director also publishes reports on agencies’ use of the various elements of the state human resources program. These reports are provided to the Commission and to other state policy makers, including the Governor and to public.

(h) The Director is authorized to take any action needed to fulfill the requirements of the state constitution, or the directives of the Commission or its Chairman.

(i) Repealed.

(j) The Director prepares the annual budget request for the department, which may be reviewed by the Commission.

(k) When routine matters that require Commission approval arise between Commission meetings, the Director is authorized to grant interim approval on behalf of the Commission. This type of interim approval must be ratified by the Commission at their next meeting or it will expire.

(l) The Director has the authority to conduct investigations as necessary to enforce the rules and to evaluate the qualifications of job applicants. See Chapter 16.

(m) The Director is responsible for establishing standards that state agencies use to address employee grievances about matters that are not subject to appeal to the Commission or the Director. More information is available in Procedures: Grievance Procedures.

(n) The Director may grant interim approval to changes to the Classification and Pay Plan between Commission meetings. When granted, this type of interim approval must be ratified by the Commission at their next meeting or it will end immediately. See Chapter 5.

(o) The Director must review and approve or disapprove state contracts for personal services to ensure that the contract is being let for reasons of economy and efficiency and not as a pretext for discrimination against state classified employees. This must happen prior to the effective date of the contract.

NOTE: Information on the contract review process may be found in Job Aids & Resources: Contract Review – Agency Request Form and Job Aids & Resources: Contract Review – Agency Request Form Instructions.

(p) The Director develops and proposes changes to the Classification and Pay Plan as needed.

(q) The Director develops and proposes changes to the rules as needed.

(r) The Director must require that state agencies maintain affirmative action programs to ensure that all citizens enjoy equal employment opportunities for classified positions. For more information, see Procedures: Affirmative Action Plan Preparation and Submittal or Job Aids and Resources: Affirmative Action Resources.

(s) When pay changes for protective services jobs are proposed, the Director must notify the State Police Civil Service Commission of any such proposal.

(t) The Director can periodically review the Civil Service Rules and make grammatical or spelling corrections, re-number rules as advisable, make gender references more inclusive and update terminology between rules to maintain consistency. The Director shall provide a report detailing such changes to the Commission for ratification at its next regularly scheduled meeting.

Rule 3.2 Repealed

Rule 3.3 Repealed

Rule 3.4 Appointment of the Director

The Commission appoints the Director using a competitive process defined by the Commission. If necessary, the Commission may use the options available through the rules to appoint a temporary Director to serve until a permanent Director is selected.

Rule 3.5 Status of the Director

The State Civil Service Director is a classified employee.

Affirmative Action Plan Preparation & Submittal

Grievance Procedures

Obtaining Required Director Approvals

Throughout the rules, various activities require Director approval. Information on how to submit a formal request, forms required, or what to submit will be addressed throughout this HR Handbook in the appropriate chapters.

Employee Training and the Comprehensive Public Training Program (CPTP)

Civil Service Rule 25.2 requires employees who occupy or are appointed to designated supervisory, managerial or administrative jobs to receive mandatory training. Training is delivered in a variety of methods such as online or E-Learning with Capstone sessions, computer-based training and the traditional instructor-led training.

Contract Review – Agency Request Form

Contract Review – Agency Request Form Instructions

Grievance Form

FAQs – Keeping Applicant Flow Records

Equal Employment Opportunity Sample Policy