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6 Cosponsor:
7 Travis M. Seegmiller
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9 LONG TITLE
10 General Description:
11 This bill amends provisions related to certain municipal employees and to hiring
12 principles for certain state government employees.
13 Highlighted Provisions:
14 This bill:
15 ▸ clarifies which municipal employees are subject to certain conditions of
16 employment;
17 ▸ precludes the Department of Human Resource Management from requiring a
18 minimum educational requirement for employment, except where educational
19 qualifications are legally required to perform the duties of the position;
20 ▸ requires the Department of Human Resource Management to:
21 • consider comparable experience or ability as equal to education when
22 determining a candidate's satisfaction of minimum qualifications, with specific
23 exceptions;
24 • ensure that job descriptions and job postings are based on the skills and
25 competencies required to perform each job; and
26 • create supporting materials that may be used by a political subdivision that
27 chooses to implement competency-based hiring principles; and
28 ▸ makes technical and conforming changes.
29 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
30 None
31 Other Special Clauses:
32 None
33 Utah Code Sections Affected:
34 AMENDS:
35 10-3-1105, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2012, Chapter 321
36 67-19-3.1, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2010, Chapter 249
37
38 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
39 Section 1. Section 10-3-1105 is amended to read:
40 10-3-1105. Municipal employees -- Duration and termination of employment --
41 Exceptions.
42 (1) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (1)(b) or (2), each employee of a municipality
43 shall hold employment without limitation of time, being subject to discharge, suspension of
44 over two days without pay, or involuntary transfer to a position with less remuneration only as
45 provided in Section 10-3-1106.
46 (b) Subsection (1)(a) does not apply to an employee who is discharged or involuntarily
47 transferred to a position with less remuneration if the discharge or involuntary transfer is the
48 result of a layoff or reorganization.
49 (2) Subsection (1)(a) does not apply to:
50 (a) subject to Subsection (3), a person appointed by the mayor, city manager, or other
51 person or body with the power to appoint in the municipality if:
52 (i) the appointment is made in writing;
53 (ii) the person's written job description identifies the person's position as exempt from
54 the protections described in Subsection (1)(a); and
55 (iii) the position is described in an ordinance as exempt from the protections described
56 in Subsection (1)(a);
57 (b) a member of the municipality's police department or fire department who is a
58 member of the classified civil service in a first or second class city;
59 (c) a person who holds a position described in Subsections (2)(c)(i) through (xii) or an
60 equivalent position designated in a municipal ordinance or personnel policy:
61 (i) a police chief of the municipality;
62 (ii) a deputy or assistant police chief of the municipality;
63 (iii) a fire chief of the municipality;
64 (iv) a deputy or assistant fire chief of the municipality;
65 (v) a head of a municipal department or division;
66 (vi) a deputy [
67 (vii) a superintendent;
68 (viii) a probationary employee of the municipality;
69 (ix) a part-time employee of the municipality, including paid call firefighters;
70 (x) a seasonal or temporary employee of the municipality;
71 (xi) a person who works in the office of an elected official; or
72 (xii) a secretarial or administrative assistant support position that is specifically
73 designated as a position to assist an elected official or the head or deputy head of a municipal
74 department;
75 (d) an individual appointed to a position under Part 9, Appointed Officials and Their
76 Duties, including:
77 (i) the city engineer;
78 (ii) the city recorder;
79 (iii) the city treasurer; or
80 (iv) the city attorney; or
81 (e) an employee who has:
82 (i) acknowledged in writing that the employee's employment status is appointed or
83 at-will; or
84 (ii) voluntarily waived the procedures required by Section 10-3-1106.
85 (3) In addition to the persons described in Subsections (2)(b) through (e), a
86 municipality may appoint up to 5% of the municipality's workforce in accordance with
87 Subsection (2)(a).
88 (4) Nothing in this section or Section 10-3-1106 may be construed to limit a
89 municipality's ability to define cause for an employee termination or reduction in force.
90 Section 2. Section 67-19-3.1 is amended to read:
91 67-19-3.1. Principles guiding interpretation of chapter and adoption of rules --
92 Merit principles.
93 (1) The department shall establish a career service system designed in a manner that
94 will provide for the effective implementation of the following merit principles:
95 (a) recruiting, selecting, and advancing employees on the basis of their relative ability,
96 knowledge, and skills, including open consideration of qualified applicants for initial
97 appointment;
98 (b) providing for equitable and competitive compensation;
99 (c) training employees as needed to assure high-quality performance;
100 (d) retaining employees on the basis of the adequacy of their performance and
101 separating employees whose inadequate performance cannot be corrected;
102 (e) fair treatment of applicants and employees in all aspects of human resource
103 administration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation,
104 age, or disability, and with proper regard for their privacy and constitutional rights as citizens;
105 (f) providing information to employees regarding their political rights and the
106 prohibited practices under the Hatch Act; and
107 (g) providing a formal procedure for advancing grievances of employees:
108 (i) without discrimination, coercion, restraint, or reprisal; and
109 (ii) in a manner that is fair, expeditious, and inexpensive for the employee and the
110 agency.
111 (2) The career service system described in Subsection (1) may not prescribe a
112 minimum educational requirement for employment, except when a minimum educational
113 qualification is legally required to perform the duties of the position.
114 (3) As part of the career service system described in Subsection (1), the department
115 shall:
116 (a) consider comparable experience or ability as equal to education in determining a
117 candidate's satisfaction of minimum qualifications, except when a minimum educational
118 qualification is legally required to perform the duties of the position; and
119 (b) ensure that position descriptions and job postings published by agencies for career
120 service positions are based on the specific skills and competencies required to perform those
121 jobs.
122 (4) Within existing resources, the department shall create supporting materials that may
123 be used by a political subdivision that chooses to implement competency-based hiring
124 principles that are the same as or similar to those principles described in Subsections (2) and
125 (3).
126 [
127 interpretation and implementation of this chapter.