DALLAS COUNTY
HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT/CIVIL SERVICE
November 11, 2009
To: Sheriff’s Department Civil Service Commission
From: Mattye Mauldin-Taylor, Ph.D., Director
Subject: Discussion and consideration for approval – Revised Dallas County Sheriff’s Department Civil Service Rules and Regulations: Sections related to Promotions, Demotions and Reduction-in-Force
Background
In its continued efforts to update the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department Civil Service Commission Rules and Regulations, the Secretary to the Commission has reviewed and modified the above listed policies and submits them for review and approval by the Sheriff’s Department Civil Service Commission.
Following is a brief outline of the revisions made related to the policies.
Section 2.07 – Employment Probationary periods
Clarifies the initial employment probationary period; and
Clarifies how job changes may impact probationary periods and civil service coverage.
Section 2.13 – Screening of applicants
Clarifies the Sheriff's Department Civil Service Commission’s role in approving the scope and content of performance tests and the requirement of applicants to pass such tests.
Section 2.22 – Performance Evaluations
Establishes a minimum performance rating score for successful completion of the initial probationary period; and
Offers guidelines regarding the role of the department, supervisors and employees during the probationary period.
Section 2.36 – Vacancies
Outlines the scope of the Sheriff when filling job vacancies.
Section 2.41 – Promotion Probation
Establishes guidelines for when an employee is promoted to a higher grade.
Section 2.42 – Resolution of promotion sequence
Establishes detailed promotional guidelines for law enforcement personnel.
Section 2.50 – Seniority
Clarifies seniority for layoff purposes.
The Human Resources/Civil Service Department distributed the recommended policy changes to executive staff in the Sheriff’s Department and members of the Sheriff’s Department Associations for review and comment. Based on the comments received in Attachment A, the HR/CS Department made additional policy revisions.
Impact on Operations
The revised policies will provide clarification and guidance to supervisors, managers and employees when addressing these issues.
Financial Impact
Adoption of the policy revisions will not impose any additional financial impact to the County.
Strategic Plan Compliance
Recommendations in this briefing are consistent with Dallas County’s Strategic Plan Vision 1: Dallas County is a model interagency partner, Strategy 1.5 – Maintain a strong, motivated Dallas County Workforce.
Recommendation
The Human Resources/Civil Service Department recommends the Sheriff’s Department Civil Service Commission approve the proposed policy revisions related to promotions, demotions, and reduction-in-force in the Sheriff’s Department Civil Service Rules and Regulations to provide clarification and guidance to supervisors, managers and employees.
Recommended by: ____________________________________
Mattye Mauldin-Taylor, Ph.D.
Director of Human Resources/Civil Service
ATTACHMENT A
Sheriff’s Department:
Comment 1: Captain Mitchell – 2.41 - Promotion probation is in conflict with 2.07 on the probationary period for those promoted into DSO or Deputy positions. 2.41 must refer those promoted into DSO and Deputy positions to 2.07."
2.07 HAS BEEN REWORDED
Human Resources/Civil Service Response:
Human Resources/Civil Service concurs with this comment and the following revision has been made:
2.41 A - An employee who is promoted to a higher grade level shall be placed on a six-month probationary period from his effective date of promotion (exception: detention service officers and deputies begin probationary period from the day they graduate from training and are licensed by the state agency) during which time the employee must satisfactorily demonstrate his ability to perform the duties required.
Comment 2: Captain Mitchell – 2.07 - Employment Probationary Period - needs to be reworded: The Civil Service Commission currently treats persons promoting into DSO positions (from clerk or Courtesy Patrol) and persons promoting into Deputy positions (from clerk, Courtesy Patrol, or DSO) as promotions and not new hires. This rule needs to address this along with retreat and appeal rights."
Also, 2.07 needs to clarify the probationary period for DSOs. It says 12 months for certified law enforcement personnel. It later talks about detention service officers and deputies. The language needs to be consistent.
Also in 2.07 the words certified/certification needs to be replaced with licensed/licensure.
Human Resources/Civil Service Response:
Human Resources/Civil Service concurs with the comments and 2.07 has been reworded as follows:
2.07. Initial Employment Probationary periods
Thise period of time
consisting of the first six months (12 months for
certified law enforcement personnel) of employment with
the department , from the employee's effective date of
full-time employment, for as a regular,
full-time employees in which they must demonstrate their
ability to satisfactorily perform the duties required.
During this time period, employees are given sufficient time to
demonstrate their ability to perform their job duties and meet
the performance expectations of the Sheriff’s Department.
The immediate supervisor will periodically evaluate and
advise the employee of his progress and assure that the employee
receives any necessary training required in order for the
employee to successfully perform the job duties. Failure of the
employee to perform satisfactorily during the probationary
period will result in dismissal without right to appeal. For
positions certified by the state, (detention service officer and
deputy), the probationary period starts the day they graduate
from training and are certified by the state agency, i.e.,
complete certification testing successfully.
Non-Law Enforcement/Civilian personnel: Please refer to Section 86-271 of the Dallas County Code.
Law Enforcement: For positions licensed by the state (such as detention service officer and deputy), the initial twelve month employment probationary period will begin the day the employee graduates from training and is certified by the state agency (i.e., complete licensing testing successfully). The following guidelines shall apply during the initial employment probationary period:
1. The employee must demonstrate the ability to satisfactorily perform the assigned job duties.
2. The employee does not have civil service coverage or appeal rights.
3. Newly hired employees shall be informed of the initial employment probationary period when they are hired.
Comment 3: Captain Mitchell – 2.37 - Review Qualifications - add "and the field training program."
Human Resources/Civil Service Response:
Human Resources/Civil Service concurs and has made the following change:
2.37 The most qualified deputy candidates will undergo a rigorous selection process and will be placed in the deputy academy where they must satisfactorily complete the training program as well as pass the TCLEOSE written exam, and the field training program.
Comment 4: Captain Mitchell – 2.53 - Employee to be Reinstated – Vacancy needs to be defined. The Civil Service Commission currently says a position is vacant on the first day after a person leaves the position. Dallas County says a position is vacant after a person has left the position and his benefits have run-off.
Human Resources/Civil Service Response:
Human Resources/Civil Service has clarified when a position is vacant and how a vacancy should be handled under Section 2.42A(6) which states: "When a vacancy occurs, the Sheriff shall (a) determine when to fill the position based on operational and/or business needs; (b) the department must verify that a position vacancy has appropriate funding and there are no pending grievances/appeals for the position under consideration; and (c) when the decision is made to fill the vacancy, the Sheriff must follow all applicable civil service rules and regulations."
The section above, specifically addresses the discretionary authorization the Sheriff has in determining the appropriate time to fill a vacancy based on business needs.
Dallas Sheriff’s Association:
Comment 1: Christopher Dyer – Even though 2.07 is "employment probation" and 2.41 is "promotion probation," those policies are somewhat ambiguous and should reflect each other."
Human Resources/Civil Service Response:
Human Resources/Civil Service concurs and has modified the language in Section 2.07 and 2.41 as reflected in the response to Captain Mitchell’s comments #1 and #2.
Comment 2: Christopher Dyer – "I would like to see 2.34 - Promotions – Definition - reworked. It would be clearer if 2.34 clearly defined Civilian, law enforcement employee and sworn law enforcement employee.
Human Resources/Civil Service Response:
Human Resources/Civil Service concurs and has made the following change:
2.34 – Definition – For non-law enforcement personnel a promotion is the advancement of an employee from a lower salary grade to a higher salary grade. For law-enforcement personnel, official promotions are made based on an approved civil service promotional list, if applicable.
Comment 3: Christopher Dyer – I see several issued with 2.41 - Promotion probation -
A (1) The immediate supervisor does not have the authority to "ensure appropriate, effective training is provide" if the department does not provide adequate support.
Human Resources/Civil Service Response:
Human Resources/Civil Service concurs and has made the following change:
2.41 A (1) The immediate supervisor
department will ensure that appropriate, effective training
is provided.
2.41 A (4) This should not be the responsibility of the employee.
Human Resources/Civil Service Response:
Human Resources/Civil Service concurs that the employee is not wholly responsible for ensuring they receive a performance evaluation. However, the employee has a shared responsibility in ensuring a performance evaluation is completed and their performance is evaluated on a regular basis. We, therefore, have made the following changes to the policy.
2.41 A (4) If an employee does not receive their performance evaluation, the employee should request it from their department supervisor. If the employee does not receive the performance evaluation within 30 days of the due date, employee should notify their Human Resources Representative.
2.41 B (3) Termination should not be an option if the employee has demonstrated the ability to satisfactorily perform the duties associated with the old position or the other suitable position.
Human Resources/Civil Service Response:
Human Resources/Civil Service did not change this section of the policy. Section 2.41 B (3) states "Termination in the event no suitable positions are open." We agree with this statement. Termination is only considered if no other suitable positions are available. The department would not be able to place the employee in an alternate "suitable position" and the department is under no obligation to create a position in such instances.
2.41 C. Remove the following two exceptions from the paragraph: "unless there is a break in their employment with Dallas County" and with the exception of section 2.41 (B-2)."
Human Resources/Civil Service Response:
Human Resources/Civil Service does not concur with this recommendation but has made the following revision to clarify the intent of the paragraph.
Civil Service covered employees who are placed in
another position transferred, promoted or demoted
with civil service coverage will retain their coverage during
the probationary period in the new position. They do not start
their initial employment probationary period over again unless
there is a break in their they terminate
employment with Dallas County and return at a later date.
While the department may take any one of the actions outlined in
Section 2.41(B), documentation will be required and an employee
is eligible to appeal such actions to the Sheriff’s Department
Civil Service Commission, with the exception of transfers
section 2.41B (2).
Comment 4: Christopher Dyer – Revert 2.42 back to its original wording as follows: 2.42. Resolution of promotion sequence - In the event of any disagreement over who should receive a promotion when candidates score equally in testing the determining factor will be seniority in their prior rank. If that criteria fails to resolve the issue, seniority within the sheriff’s department will used to determine order of promotion." The new section is too convoluted and may cause confusion especially in cases where the test scores have not been maintained. This should also be the same for reduction of force. The fairness of the policy can be debated by either position but seniority is easier to determine and simplifies the compliance with the policy.
Human Resources/Civil Service Response:
Human Resources/Civil Service does not concur with this recommendation. Human Resources/Civil Service is considering an alternate option to clarify "seniority in rank" and to ensure legal compliance. The definition of seniority in rank is debated only in situations where more than one individual was promoted on the same day. Human Resources/Civil Service does not believe that seniority within the department is the deciding tie breaker at this point. If individuals would have been promoted on separate dates, the individual with the higher score would have been promoted prior to the individual with the lower score, thus having greater seniority. However, since individuals are promoted on the same day, on the surface it appears that their seniority is the same as the date of promotion. However, upon further analysis it is obvious that if separate dates were utilized the individual with the higher score would have more seniority than the individual with the lower score. Therefore, in order to alleviate the confusion and the disagreement in these situations, Human Resources will recommend promoting individuals on separate dates. Seniority then would not require interpretation since the dates would define seniority in rank without need for further analysis.
Comment 5: Christopher Dyer - 2.50 Seniority - I don’t see any problems with the policy in regard to the reduction for the current list but in the event of a tie, the considering factor should be seniority. Again this policy is convoluted and needs to be simplified. What about non-sworn law enforcement employees?
Human Resources/Civil Service Response:
Human Resources/Civil Service does not concur with this recommendation. Until the recommendation to promote on separate dates is approved and implemented, the following policy revision must be adhered to:
Section 2.50 – Seniority.
A. Length of service of an employee
for inclusion in layoff ratings shall be based upon the number
of calendar months of continuous departmental service in the
affected employee's current classification. Length of
service of an employee for inclusion in layoff ratings shall be
based upon seniority in rank. Seniority in rank is
determined by how long an officer has occupied his/her current
rank. If more than one officer have the same date of rank, then
seniority is based on the ranking on the official promotional
list for their current rank. An officer ranked #1 (highest
score) on the official promotional list for their current
position will have been considered to have more seniority before
officer #2, #3, #4, etc. on the official promotional list.
Therefore, the layoff sequence order shall be officers #4, #3,
#2, and #1.
Comment 6: Christopher Dyer – 2.53 - I agree completely with Captain Mitchell (below) but I would also include Detention Service officers in the paragraph with sworn law enforcement employees under the two year stipulation.
By Captain Mitchell – 2.53 - Employee to be reinstated – "Vacancy needs to be defined. The Civil Service Commission currently says a position is vacant on the first day after a person leaves the position. Dallas County says a position is vacant after a person has left the position and his benefits have run-off."
Human Resources/Civil Service Response:
Human Resources/Civil Service did not change section 2.53 (Employees to be reinstated). In reference to Captain Mitchell’s request to define "vacancy" please refer to the Section 2.42A(6) which explains when a vacancy can be filled. It states: "When a vacancy occurs, the Sheriff shall (a) determine when to fill the position based on operational and/or business needs; (b) the department must verify that a position vacancy has appropriate funding and there are no pending grievances/appeals for the position under consideration; and (c) when the decision is made to fill the vacancy, the Sheriff must follow all applicable civil service rule sand regulations."
Comment 7: Christopher Dyer – 4.00 "I don’t see any issues with this policy."
Texas Municipal Police Association:
Comment 1: Gregory Porter – "It would appear that the only scenario that is not covered on the issue of seniority is if an officer comes from a supervisory or above position within civilian ranks (i.e., DSS or DSM) and then promotes over to a sworn position, then begins to promote up a sworn officer.
It would be my positions that we place some type of language that indicates that seniority considerations be given solely and separately with the respective Civilian and Sworn positions an officer may hold within the Department. In other words, no additional considerations be given an officer (other than department seniority) if an officer holds some type of civilian rank prior to becoming a sworn officer.
I promise this will come up and although on the surface the current language appears to address it through Department seniority, I can anticipate someone making an issue of this circumstance and trying to apply or use prior supervisory rank for consideration.
Human Resources/Civil Service Response:
The proposed revision in section 2.42 addresses concerns regarding any attempt to receive non-law enforcement credit for law enforcement seniority. The section states:
2.42 Resolution of promotion
sequence. Promotional Guidelines for Law
Enforcement
For designated law enforcement positions, the following promotional guidelines shall apply:
(1) Promotions are made from an official promotional list approved by the Sheriff’s Department Civil Service Commission;
(2) This official promotional list is good for one-year unless extended by the civil service commission;
(3) An officer’s promotional rank is determined by his test score for that rank;
(4) An officer is promoted from the official promotional list based on his ranking on the promotional list. For seniority purposes, the officer ranked #1 on the promotional list will be considered to have been promoted before the officer ranked #2, etc., even when the department administratively decides to promote them on the same day.
(5) An officer may be promoted on a temporary basis without following the formal promotional process. However, the officer receives no credit for time in rank while in a temporary assignment;
(6) When a vacancy occurs, the Sheriff shall
a. determine when to fill the position based on operational and/or business needs;
b. the department must verify that a position vacancy has appropriate funding and there are no pending grievances/appeals for the position under consideration; and
c. when the decision is made to fill the vacancy, the Sheriff must follow all applicable civil service rules and regulations.
Promotional Sequence.
When law enforcement officers are promoted, the following promotional sequence will apply:
(1) For the vacancy under consideration, the officer with the highest ranking on the applicable civil service promotional list shall be promoted first. If there is a tie between officers, then consideration is given to:
(2) Seniority in the rank the officers currently hold. If there is still a tie, then consideration is given to:
(3) Ranking on the promotional list for the rank the officers currently hold. If there is still a tie, then consideration is given to:
(4) Seniority in the next lower rank held. If there is still a tie, then consideration is given to:
(5) Ranking on promotional list for the next lower rank held. If there is still a tie, then consideration is given to:
(6) Seniority with department.