S.B. 140 Enrolled

COUNTY SERVICE PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
AMENDMENTS
1999 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Sponsor: R. Mont Evans
AN ACT RELATING TO COUNTIES; MODIFYING COUNTY PERSONNEL
MANAGEMENT PROVISIONS; MODIFYING DEFINITIONS; MODIFYING THE
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CAREER SERVICE COUNCIL; MODIFYING REQUIRED
ELEMENTS OF COUNTY PERSONNEL RULES; MODIFYING DUTIES OF COUNTY
AGENCIES, DEPARTMENTS, OR OFFICES; MODIFYING COMPENSATION OF CAREER
SERVICE COUNCIL; AUTHORIZING THE COUNTY LEGISLATIVE BODY TO
DETERMINE AND ADJUST RATE OF COMPENSATION; AND MAKING TECHNICAL
CHANGES.
This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
AMENDS:
17-33-2, as last amended by Chapters 12 and 146, Laws of Utah 1994
17-33-4, as last amended by Chapter 146, Laws of Utah 1994
17-33-5, as last amended by Chapter 146, Laws of Utah 1994
17-33-7, as last amended by Chapter 275, Laws of Utah 1992
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 17-33-2 is amended to read:
17-33-2. Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
(1) "Career service position" means any position in the county service except those
exempted under Section 17-33-8 .
[(2) "Certification" means referral of names of the most qualified eligible applicants certified
by the director of personnel management to the agency for appointment.]
[(3)] (2) "Council" means the career service council, a three-member appeals and personnel
advisory board.

[(4)] (3) "Director" means the director of personnel management.
[(5)] (4) "Eligible applicant" means any applicant that meets the job related minimum
requirements established for a position in the career service.
[(6)] (5) "Eligible list" means a list of eligible applicants ranked in order of relative
knowledge, skill, ability and merit.
[(7)] (6) "Exempt positions" means those positions which are not in the career service as
specified in Section 17-33-8 .
[(8)] (7) "Merit system" means a system of personnel administration based on the principles
set forth in Section 17-33-3 .
[(9)] (8) "Position classification" means a grouping of positions under the same title which
are sufficiently similar to be compensated at the same salary range and to which the same tests of
ability can be applied.
[(10)] (9) "Provisional appointment" means an appointment to fill a position pending the
establishment of a register for such position.
Section 2. Section 17-33-4 is amended to read:
17-33-4. Career service council -- Powers and duties -- Qualifications, appointment,
terms, compensation.
(1) (a) There shall be in each county establishing a system a three-member bipartisan career
service council appointed by the county legislative body. The members of the council shall be persons
in sympathy with the application of merit principles to public employment.
(b) The council shall hear appeals not resolved at lower levels in the cases of career service
employees suspended, transferred, demoted, or dismissed as well in the cases of other grievances not
resolved by the grievance procedure at the division or departmental level[; it].
(c) The career service council:
(i) may make an initial determination in each appeal whether the appeal is one of the types
of matters under Subsection (1)(b) over which the council has jurisdiction;
(ii) shall review written appeals in cases of applicants rejected for examination[;] and [shall]
report final binding appeals decisions, in writing, to the county legislative body[. However]; and

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(iii) may not hear any other personnel matter.
(d) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Subsection (1), a right of appeal to the
district court under the provisions of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure shall not be abridged.
(2) Each council member shall serve a term of three years to expire on June 30, three years
after the date of his or her appointment, except that original appointees shall be chosen as follows:
one member for a term expiring June 30, 1982; one member for a term expiring June 30, 1983; and
one member for a term expiring June 30, 1984. Successors of original council members shall be
chosen for three-year terms. An appointment to fill a vacancy on the council shall be for only the
unexpired term of the appointee's successor. Each member of the board shall hold office until his
successor is appointed and confirmed. A member of the council may be removed by the governing
body for cause, after having been given a copy of the charges against him or her and an opportunity
to be heard publicly on the charges before the county legislative body. Adequate annual
appropriations shall be made available to enable the council effectively to carry out its duties under
this law.
(3) Members of the council shall be United States citizens and be actual and bona fide
residents of the state of Utah and the county from which appointed for a period of not less than one
year preceding the date of appointment and a member may not hold another government office or be
employed by the county.
(4) The council shall elect one of its members as chairperson, and two or more members of
the council shall constitute a quorum necessary for carrying on the business and activity of the
council.
(5) The council shall have subpoena power to compel attendance of witnesses, and to
authorize witness fees where it deems appropriate, to be paid at the same rate as in justice courts.
(6) Council members shall receive compensation for each day or partial day they are in
session at [the rate of $50] a per diem [for each day or part thereof they are in session; except that]
rate determined by the county legislative body. The county legislative body may periodically adjust
the compensation rate [may be adjusted periodically] for inflation [by the county legislative body].
Section 3. Section 17-33-5 is amended to read:

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17-33-5. Office of personnel management -- Director -- Appointment and
responsibilities -- Personnel rules.
(1) (a) Each county legislative body shall:
(i) create an office of personnel management, administered by a director of personnel
management; and
(ii) ensure that the director is a person with proven experience in personnel management.
(b) (i) Beginning July 1, 1993, the county legislative body shall appoint a director of
personnel management to serve a four-year term.
(ii) At the expiration of any four-year term, the county legislative body may reappoint that
director to another four-year term or may appoint a new director.
(iii) If the position of director of personnel management becomes vacant for any reason
before the four-year term expires, the county legislative body shall appoint a person to complete the
unexpired term by following the procedures and requirements of this section.
(c) The career service council shall:
(i) advertise and recruit for the director position in the same manner as for merit positions;
(ii) select three names from a register; and
(iii) submit those names as recommendations to the county legislative body.
(d) The county legislative body shall select a person to serve as director of the office of
personnel management from the names submitted to it by the career service council.
(2) The director of personnel management shall:
(a) encourage and exercise leadership in the development of expertise in personnel
administration within the several departments, offices, and agencies in the county service and make
available the facilities of the office of personnel management to this end;
(b) advise the county legislative and executive bodies on the use of human resources;
(c) develop and implement programs for the improvement of employee effectiveness, such
as training, safety, health, counseling, and welfare;
(d) investigate periodically the operation and effect of this law and of the policies made under
it and report findings and recommendations to the county legislative body;

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(e) establish and maintain records of all employees in the county service, setting forth as to
each employee class, title, pay or status, and other relevant data;
(f) make an annual report to the county legislative body regarding the work of the
department; and
(g) apply and carry out this law and the policies under it and perform any other lawful acts
that are necessary to carry out the provisions of this law.
(3) (a) (i) The director shall issue personnel rules for the county.
(ii) The county legislative body may approve, amend, or reject those rules before they are
implemented.
(b) The rules shall provide for:
(i) recruiting efforts to be planned and carried out in a manner that assures open competition,
with special emphasis to be placed on recruiting efforts to attract minorities, women, handicapped,
or other groups that are substantially underrepresented in the county work force to help assure they
will be among the candidates from whom appointments are made;
(ii) the establishment of job related minimum requirements wherever practical, which all
successful candidates shall be required to meet in order to be eligible for consideration for
appointment or promotion;
(iii) selection procedures that include consideration of the relative merit of each applicant for
employment, a job related method of determining the eligibility or ineligibility of each applicant, and
a valid, reliable, and objective system of ranking eligibles according to their qualifications and merit;
(iv) certification procedures that insure equitable consideration of an appropriate number of
the most qualified eligibles based on the ranking system;
(v) appointments to positions in the career service by selection from the most qualified
eligibles certified on eligible lists established in accordance with Subsections (3)(b)(iii) and (iv);
(vi) noncompetitive appointments in the occasional instance where there is evidence that open
or limited competition is not practical, such as for unskilled positions for which there are no minimum
job requirements;
(vii) limitation of competitions at the discretion of the director for appropriate positions to

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facilitate employment of qualified applicants with a substantial physical or mental impairment, or other
groups protected by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act;
(viii) permanent appointment for entry to the career service which shall be contingent upon
satisfactory performance by the employee during a period of six months, with the probationary period
extendable for a period not to exceed six months for good cause, but with the condition that the
probationary employee may appeal directly to the council any undue prolongation of the period
designed to thwart merit principles;
(ix) temporary, provisional, or other noncareer service appointments, which may not be used
as a way of defeating the purpose of the career service and may not exceed 90 days, with the period
extendable for a period not to exceed an additional 90 days for good cause;
(x) lists of eligibles normally to be used, if available, for filling temporary positions, and short
term emergency appointments to be made without regard to the other provisions of law to provide
for maintenance of essential services in an emergency situation where normal procedures are not
practical, these emergency appointments not to exceed 90 days, with that period extendable for a
period not to exceed an additional 90 days for good cause;
(xi) promotion and career ladder advancement of employees to higher level positions [in such
a manner that eligible permanent career service employees are considered and it is adequately assured]
and assurance that all persons promoted are qualified for the position;
(xii) recognition of the equivalency of other merit processes by waiving, at the discretion of
the director, the open competitive examination for placement in the career service positions who were
originally selected through a competitive examination process in another governmental entity, the
individual in those cases, to serve a probationary period;
(xiii) preparation, maintenance, and revision of a position classification plan for all positions
in the career service, based upon similarity of duties performed and responsibilities assumed, so that
the same qualifications may reasonably be required for, and the same schedule of pay may be
equitably applied to, all positions in the same class, the compensation plan, in order to maintain a high
quality public work force, to take into account the responsibility and difficulty of the work, the
comparative pay and benefits needed to compete in the labor market and to stay in proper alignment

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with other similar governmental units [in the state], and other factors;
(xiv) keeping records of performance on all employees in the career service and requiring
consideration of performance records in determining salary increases, any benefits for meritorious
service, promotions, the order of layoffs and reinstatements, demotions, discharges, and transfers;
(xv) establishment of a plan governing layoffs resulting from lack of funds or work, abolition
of positions, or material changes in duties or organization, and governing reemployment of persons
so laid off, taking into account with regard to layoffs and reemployment the relative ability, seniority,
and merit of each employee;
(xvi) establishment of a plan for resolving employee grievances and complaints with final and
binding decisions;
(xvii) establishment of disciplinary measures such as suspension, demotion in rank or grade,
or discharge, such measures to provide for presentation of charges, hearing rights, and appeals for
all permanent employees in the career service to the career service council;
(xviii) establishment of a procedure for employee development and improvement of poor
performance;
(xix) establishment of hours of work, holidays, and attendance requirements in various classes
of positions in the career service;
(xx) establishment and publicizing of fringe benefits such as insurance, retirement, and leave
programs; and
(xxi) any other requirements not inconsistent with this law that are proper for its
enforcement.
Section 4. Section 17-33-7 is amended to read:
17-33-7. Functions of county office of personnel management -- Personnel functions
of county agencies, departments, or offices.
(1) (a) The county office of personnel management shall perform the functions required by
this Subsection (1).
(b) The county executive, county legislative body, and county office of personnel
management may not delegate those functions to a separate county agency, office, or department.

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(c) The county office of personnel management shall:
(i) design and administer a county pay plan that includes salaries, wages, incentives, bonuses,
leave, insurance, retirement, and other benefits;
(ii) design and administer the county classification plan and grade allocation system, including
final decisions on position classification and grade allocation;
(iii) conduct position classification studies, including periodic desk audits, except that an
agency, department, or office may submit classification recommendations to the county office of
personnel management;
(iv) maintain registers of publicly recruited applicants and certification of top-ranking eligible
applicants;
(v) monitor county agency, department, or office personnel practices to determine
compliance with equal opportunity and affirmative action guidelines; and
(vi) maintain central personnel records.
(d) The county legislative body may approve, amend, or reject the pay plan.
(2) County agencies, departments, or offices shall:
(a) establish initial job descriptions;
(b) recommend position classifications and grade allocations;
(c) make final selections [from lists of certified eligibles] for appointments and promotions
to vacant positions;
(d) conduct performance evaluations;
(e) discipline employees; and
(f) perform other functions approved by the legislative body, and agreed to by the county
agency, office, or department.

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