SECTION 1. GENERAL: All positions shall be classified according to the duties and responsibilities assigned. All classification actions shall be based on the principle that positions with similar duties and responsibilities and requiring similar qualifications shall be grouped together in common classifications. Positions in the same classification shall be designated by the same title, filled by using the same qualification standards and selection criteria, and compensated according to the pay scales of the classification. The Director shall periodically review the duties of positions in the classified service and revise classification specifications and reallocate positions as needed. The Director shall provide assistance to department heads in classifying positions in the unclassified service.
SECTION 2. CONTENT: All classification specifications shall contain a title, the distinguishing characteristics of the work, illustrative examples of duties and the minimum qualifications required to perform the work. Classification specifications shall include only those educational, training, physical and experience requirements that are essential to adequate job performance. The content is illustrative and shall not be construed to be comprehensive or to limit the authority of department heads to direct and control the work of employees. Classification specifications will be prepared so as to promote the goals of equal employment opportunity, to encourage upward and lateral mobility of employees, and to avoid the creation of “dead end” jobs. The classification specifications shall constitute a guide for establishing minimum employment standards, for examinations, and for evaluating the qualifications of applicants. The title of the classification shall be the title of all positions in the classification and shall be used on all official records.
SECTION 3. CHANGE OF ASSIGNED DUTIES: No employee shall be required to regularly perform duties of a position outside of the classification to which appointed. However, employees may be temporarily assigned duties outside their classifications. In addition, under the conditions described in Section 9 (Emergency Appointment) of Rule XI, a department head may temporarily assign to employees whatever duties are necessary to meet the requirements of the emergency situation. Whenever a department head proposes, or assigns on a permanent basis, duties that are significantly different from those described in the classification specification for that position, a report will be made to the Director, who will initiate a job study.
SECTION 4. CHANGES IN CLASSIFICATION STATUS OF INCUMBENT: Upon reclassification of filled positions, the Director shall determine whether the action constitutes an upward, lateral or downward movement of the level of the position.
A. Downward. An employee in a position reclassified to a lower classification shall have the right of either: (1) transferring to a vacant position in his/her present classification in the same or another department, provided the head of the department into which the transfer is proposed agrees, or (2) continuing in the same position in the lower classification at a “Y” rate of pay when the incumbent’s pay is higher than the maximum step of the salary range for the lower classification.
B. Lateral. The employment status of the incumbent will remain unchanged in the classification to which the position is reallocated.
C. Upward. The Director will grant status to the incumbent when either; 1) there has been no essential change in the duties and responsibilities of the position during the individual’s incumbency; or 2) there has been a gradual change in the duties and the incumbent has satisfactorily performed the higher level tasks for at least 13 biweekly pay periods. If neither of the conditions listed above exist, the incumbent may be transferred, demoted, laid off or compete for the reallocated position as specified elsewhere in these rules.
SECTION 5. PROMOTIONAL REQUIREMENTS WHERE EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS HAVE BEEN RAISED: If, in a given classification series, the educational requirements have been raised due to a classification action, incumbents in a lower classification at the time the standards are increased shall only be required to meet the former educational requirements for the next higher classification when competing for promotion to the next higher classification in that series.