The following words and terms used in these rules shall have the meaning indicated below unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
means a salary increase within the limits of the pay grade established for a class.
means the official determination of the class in which a position shall be deemed to exist and the assignment of an individual position to an appropriate class.
means the date by which and from which employee benefits are computed including but not necessarily limited to salary increases, vacation, sick leave and leaves of absence.
means a person who, according to the rules, has made formal application for employment.
"Appointing authority" means the board, commission, department heads, group of persons, officer or person having the power by lawful delegated authority to make appointment to or removal from an established position in the county service.
Except as specifically provided elsewhere, the following shall be deemed the appointing authority:
The board of supervisors shall be the appointing authority for the county executive officer, county counsel, and all county boards and commissions.
The county executive officer shall be the appointing authority for all department heads other than elective officials.
Department heads shall be the appointing authority as to all persons within their respective departments.
Identification of a position as classified or unclassified shall not affect the operation of the foregoing rules. "Appointment" means the offer to and acceptance by a person of a position either on a permanent or temporary basis.
means any individual having sole authority to act on behalf of a department head in the department head's absence for an entire department, and who reports directly to the department head.
means the board of supervisors of the county of Placer.
means the submission by the director of names of eligibles in rank order from an appropriate eligible list to an appointing authority.
means a definitely recognized kind of employment in the county service designed to embrace all positions having duties and responsibilities sufficiently similar so that the same requirements as to education, experience, knowledge and ability may be demanded of incumbents and so that the same schedule of compensation may be made to apply with equity.
means the judging of a position's contents and its allocation to a class in accordance with the duties performed and the authority and responsibilities exercised.
means an orderly arrangement of positions under separate and distinct classes so that each class will contain all those positions which are sufficiently similar in respect to duties and responsibilities to meet the requirements as established under the definition of "class," such classification plan being established and maintained by the director of human resources.
means all positions in the county service except those specifically placed in the "unclassified" service.
means the Placer County civil service commission.
means the salary, wage, allowances, and all other forms of valuable consideration, earned by or paid to an employee by reason of service in any position, but does not include any allowances authorized and incurred as necessary expenses.
means a schedule of salaries established by ordinance for the several classes of positions recognized in the classification plan, so that all positions of a given class will be paid the same salary grade established for the class.
"Continuous service" means service without interruption during which the employee has been employed by the county. An employee who is laid off and then reemployed shall have total time worked as the basis for computing continuous service. Interruption of service means dismissal, resignation, unauthorized leave of absence and lay-off in excess of two years.
A break shall occur for any unauthorized absence or resignation.
For purposes of computing a break in service for employees on integrated State Disability Insurance (SDI), only those hours recorded as off payroll hours will accumulate toward the determination of a break in service. For example, in an 80 hour pay period, the SDI hours covered may amount to 20 hours. The remaining hours are covered by and charged to sick leave. The 20 hours related to SDI will be off payroll, which will be reflected on the employee's payroll check stub.
Except as provided in subsection 3 of this definition, partial calendar months shall be excluded in computing continuous service.
For DSA represented employees, whenever "year of service" or "years of service" is used in this chapter to define any form of benefit eligibility, that term shall mean a continuous year of permanent county service (2,080 paid hours equals one year of service) or continuous years of permanent county service (2,080 paid hours equals one year of service).
means the county of Placer.
means the positions and employments occupied by any legally appointed officer or employee of the county established by the board.
means a change in status of an employee, from a position in one class to a position in another class having lesser duties and responsibilities, lower qualifications and a lower grade of compensation.
means an administrative branch of the county government with a line of work and group of employees under the immediate charge of a chief executive officer, who is known as the department head.
means the human resources director.
means the separation of an employee from the classified service for a cause.
means a person who may legally be appointed to vacant positions in the competitive service by reason of prior service or of the successful passage of an original entrance or promotional examination.
means a list of names of persons arranged in order of final ranking, who have been found qualified through suitable tests for employment for positions allocated to a specific class.
means a person who is legally occupying a position in the county service or who is on authorized leave of absence.
"Assembled examination" means a test conducted at a specified time and place at which applicants are required to appear concurrently for competition under the supervision of an examiner or proctor.
"Unassembled examination" means a test consisting of an appraisal of training, experience or work history, or any other means for evaluating other relative qualifications of applicants without the necessity of their personal appearance at a specified place.
means a general survey within a department wherein a group of positions are resurveyed and, as a result, a group of such positions are reallocated to different classes.
"Termination in good standing" means that an employee has given the required termination notice and has not been discharged for cause. It shall also include employees who have been laid off.
"Occupational group" means a major subdivision of a series including one or more classes of positions in an associated craft, occupation, profession, or functional activity.
A declared holiday constitutes eight working hours granted as time off with pay.
A declared holiday constitutes eight working hours granted as time off with pay for full-time employees. Part-time employees' holiday hours shall be pro-rated on the basis of their standard/scheduled hours to a 40 hour week. For PPEO, DDAA, and DSA represented employees, rounding will occur to one decimal place.
means termination of employment of an employee without prejudice for any of the following reasons:
means an authorized absence from work as provided by these rules.
means an examination open to the public and not limited to applicants in county service.
means:
means a position established within which a full-time employee works on a continuous basis, 40 hours per week and allocated by the board to a department in the salary ordinance. (Except those employees under an FLSA 7J or 7K exemption.)
means a position established on a permanent, year-round basis requiring work on a regular schedule of less than 40 hours per week and allocated by the board to a department in the salary ordinance.
means an office or employment in the county service, of which the duties and responsibilities are exercised by one person.
"Extra help position" means a position approved by the county executive for a specific length of time, who works eight hours a day or a fraction thereof, but such work is done on call at irregular intervals or without a set pattern, usually to meet peak workloads or temporary conditions such as vacation relief, paid sick leave and other situations involving a fluctuating staff. An extra help position is not allocated by the board to a department.
means:
Any employee engaged in work:
Predominantly intellectual and varied in character as opposed to routine mental, manual, mechanical, or physical work;
Involving the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment in its performance;
Of such character that the output produced or the result accomplished cannot be standardized in relation to a given period of time;
Requiring knowledge of an advanced type in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a long course of specialized intellectual instruction and study in an institution of higher learning or a hospital as distinguished from a general academic education or from an apprenticeship or from training in the performance or routine mental, manual or physical processes; or
Any employee who:
Has completed the courses of specialized intellectual instruction and study in subsection (1)(d) of this definition;
Is performing related work under the supervision of a professional person to qualify themselves to become a professional employee as defined in subsection (1)(d) of this definition.
means advancement to a position of higher rank or grade where the salary grade difference between the current classification and the new classification involves an increase in pay of at least five percent or more. A change in salary grade resulting from a reclassification of an occupational group without regard to departmental lines and involving no substantial change in duties and qualifications is not considered a promotion.
means those limited to qualified permanent or probationary county employees in permanent allocations. County employees shall be allowed paid time during their regular scheduled shift to participate in an examination or interview for other county positions.
means regular day off or an employee's regularly scheduled day off.
means a change in allocation of an individual position by raising it to a higher class, reducing it to a lower class, or moving it to another class at the same level on the basis of substantial changes in the kind, difficulty, or responsibility of duties performed in such position.
See "Classifications."
means a list of names of persons, arranged in order provided by these rules, who have occupied positions allocated to any class in the classified service and who have been separated from the service due to layoff or who have been demoted to a lower class and who, in accordance with these rules, are entitled to have their names certified to appointing authorities when vacancies in the class from which they separated are to be filled, ahead of those whose names are on any eligible list for the class.
means restoration of a former permanent full-time employee to a class in which status was formerly held.
means one or more occupational groups having classes of positions with duties substantially similar in nature and character, such classes being placed in the respective groups to aid in the process of classification, in determining and fixing compensation and in administering the county classification and compensation plan.
"One year of service credit" means 2,080 hours of service, including authorized paid absences.
"Service" refers to the number of hours an employee works and to the regularity with which they work.
Permanent Full-Time. A permanent full-time employee works on a continuous basis 40 hours per week and whose position is allocated by the board to a department and listed in the salary ordinance.
Permanent Part-Time. A permanent part-time employee works less than 40 hours per week but normally follows a predetermined fixed pattern of working hours and whose position is allocated by the board to a department and listed in the salary ordinance.
Extra Help. An extra help employee may work eight hours a day or a fraction thereof, but whose position is not allocated by the board to a department but has been authorized by the county administrative officer for a specific length of time. An extra help employee has no status. The advance authorization by the county executive office shall not be required as to any urgent or emergency situation; in such emergency situation the sheriff may use any reserve deputy sheriff for a period not to exceed 16 hours within a pay period. Not later than the close of the third succeeding work day following the commencement of such emergency use, the sheriff shall, in writing, report such emergency use to the county executive office.
Limited Term. A limited term employee works on a continuous basis 20 or more hours per week. These positions are allocated by the board to a department as funded for the duration of an outside source of funds, e.g., federal or state grant. A limited term employee has no status until transferred to or appointed to a permanent position within the county.
means the official description of a class.
There are three types of status. They are acquired as follows:
Permanent. Acquired by an employee who has been lawfully retained in their position after the completion of the probationary period as provided in these rules.
Probationary. Acquired by an employee who has been certified and appointed, but who has not completed the probationary period as provided in these rules.
Provisional. Acquired by an employee who possesses the minimum qualifications established for the class and who has been appointed to fill a position for which no eligibles are available.
means any individual having authority to exercise independent judgment in the interest of the employer, promote, discharge, assign, reward or discipline other employees, or having the responsibility to direct them, or to adjust their grievances, or effectively to recommend such action if in connection with the foregoing the exercise of such authority is not of a merely routine or clerical nature, but requires the use of independent judgment.
Second Level Supervisor. Authority to direct a division or unit of a department. May be directly responsible for other supervisors, professional employees and employees whose output is qualitative rather than quantitative; who exercise independent judgment as opposed to routine decision making; and stresses intellectual rather than manual tasks.
First Level Supervisor. One who is directly responsible for five or more employees within a department, division, or unit on a full-time basis. Reports to assistant department head, division head, or second level supervisor.
means a temporary separation of an employee from his or her position without pay, for disciplinary purposes or other just causes. An employee may not be so suspended for a period exceeding 90 calendar days in any calendar year.
The designation given to or name applied to a class or to each position allocated to the class and to the legally appointed incumbent of each position allocated to the class. (Its meaning is set forth in the corresponding definition and the class specification and it is always to be used and understood in that sense, even though it may previously have had a broader, narrower, or different significance.)
means all officers, positions, and employments in the government of Placer County as set forth in Section 3.08.070 of this code.
means that 24 hour period which begins at 5:01 p.m. on each calendar day. "Workweek" means:
Regular Workweek—General Unit, Professional Unit and Deputy Sheriffs Unit. That calendar period which begins at 5:01 p.m. on a Friday and which ends at five p.m. on the following Friday. Paid time off for vacation, holidays, sick leave, and compensatory time taken shall be computed as actual hours worked for computation of overtime.
9/80 Program—General Unit and Professional Unit. In the case of employees on a 9/80 program (nine workdays in an 80 hour pay period) the workweek shall consist of the first 40 hours worked in a seven consecutive 24 hour period, commencing with adoption of the 9/80 program. A 9/80 program shall consist of eight nine-hour workdays, one eight-hour workday and one additional day off, every other workweek. The additional day off must be taken on the same day of the week as the eight-hour workday in the alternate week. Paid time off for vacation, holidays, sick leave, and compensatory time taken shall be computed as actual hours worked for computation of overtime.
(prior code §§ 14.1208, 14.1292; Ord. 5006-B, 1999; Ord. 5058-B (Attach. 18), 2000; Ord. 5160-B, 2002; Ord. 5371-B, 2005; Ord. 5478-B (Attach. A), 2007; Ord. 5531-B, 2008; Ord. 5572-B § 15, 2009; Ord. 5795-B § 5, 2015; Ord. 5991-B § 1, 2019; Ord. 6025-B § 3, 2020; Ord. 6068-B § 1, 2021; Ord. 6246-B, 1/23/2024)