Chino Hills Municipal Code Ch. 2.48 Personnel System

In order to establish an equitable and uniform procedure for dealing with personnel matters and to comply with applicable laws relating to the administration of the personnel process, the following personnel system is adopted.

(Ord. 91-05 § 2.60.010)

The terms used to administer the personnel system shall be defined in the personnel policies.

(Ord. 91-05 § 2.60.020)

The City Manager shall administer the city personnel system and may delegate any of the powers and duties of such administration to any other officer or employee of the city or may recommend that such powers and duties be performed under contract as provided in Section 2.48.130. The City Manager shall:

A. Act as the appointing authority for the city in accordance with Section 2.08.060(B) of this code;

B. Administer all the provisions of this chapter and of the personnel policies and procedures not specifically reserved to the Council;

C. Prepare or cause to be prepared personnel policies and procedures and revisions. The City Attorney shall approve the legality of such policies and procedures and revisions prior to their submission and to their implementation;

D. Recommend to the City Council personnel policy issues involving financial commitments such as, but not limited to, pay rates and employee benefit programs;

E. Prepare, or cause to be prepared, a position classification plan, including class specifications, and revisions of the plan;

F. Prepare, or cause to be prepared, a plan of compensation, and revisions of such plan, covering all classification titles for authorized city positions. The plan and any revisions of the plan shall become effective upon approval of the Council;

G. Have the authority to discipline employees in accordance with this chapter and the personnel policies of the city;

H. Provide for the recruitment and selection of city employees based upon open or promotional recruitments and perform any other duty that may be required to administer the personnel system.

I. The City Manager or Personnel Director shall have the authority to request from the State Department of Justice a copy of the State Summary Criminal History Information for any position—regular, part-time, or volunteer—involving the care or supervision of children, minors, the elderly, the handicapped, or the mentally impaired, or for any other position with the city wherein such information is deemed important to the selection process. The City Manager or designated Personnel Director shall utilize the process and procedure set forth in Chapter 5.36 of this code.

(Ord. 92-21 § 1; Ord. 91-05 § 2.60.030)

The provisions of this chapter shall apply to all offices, positions, and employments in the service of the city which offices, positions, and employments shall be in the competitive service, except this chapter shall not apply to:

1. Members of the City Council;

2. Members of the appointive boards, commissions, and committees;

3. Persons engaged under contract to supply expert, professional, or technical services for a definite period of time;

4. Volunteer personnel, who receive no regular compensation from the city;

5. City Attorney, City Manager, City Treasurer, and City Clerk;

6. Department heads and other management positions so designated by the City Manager;

7. Emergency employees who are hired to meet the immediate requirements of an emergency condition, such as an extraordinary fire, flood, or earthquake which threatens life or property;

8. Employees, other than those listed elsewhere in this section, who are not regularly employed in positions. "Regularly employed in positions" means an employee hired for an indefinite term into a budgeted position, who is regularly scheduled to work no less than forty (40) hours per week and has successfully completed the probationary period and been retained as provided in this chapter and the personnel policies;

9. Any position primarily funded under a state or federal employment program;

10. Any new position hereafter created by the City Council, unless declared by the City Council to be in the classified service at the time of creation or thereafter.

B. Employees not included in the competitive service under this section shall serve at the will of their appointing authority.

(Ord. 91-05 § 2.60.040)

Personnel policies shall be prepared and may be amended from time to time by the City Manager, subject to review by the City Council. Any policy matters involving the commitment of financial resources shall be recommended and must be approved by the City Council prior to implementation. The policies shall govern the personnel system, including but not limited to:

A. Preparation, installation, revision, and maintenance of a position classification plan covering all positions in the competitive service, including employment standards and qualifications for each class;

B. Preparation, revision, and administration of a plan of compensation directly correlated with the position classification plan providing a rate or range of pay for each class;

C. Open and promotional recruitments to fill regular positions;

D. The making of temporary and emergency appointments;

E. Establishment of probationary testing periods;

F. Transfer, promotion, demotion, and reinstatement of employees;

G. Evaluation of the job performance of employees;

H. Separation of employees from the city service;

I. Content, maintenance, and use of personnel records and forms; and

J. The establishment of any necessary appeal procedures.

(Ord. 91-05 § 2.60.050)

A. Appointments to vacant positions in the competitive service shall be made in accordance with the personnel policies. Appointments and promotions shall be based on merit and fitness. Examinations shall be used in and conducted to aid in the selection of qualified employees and shall consist of selection techniques which will test fairly the qualifications of candidates such as achievement and aptitude tests and other written tests, personal interviews, performance tests, physical agility tests, evaluation of daily work performance, work samples, or any combination of these tests. The probation period shall be considered an extension of the examination process. Physical, medical, and psychological tests may be given as part of any examination.

B. In any examination, the City Manager or his or her designee may include, in addition to the competitive tests, qualifying test or tests and set minimum standards therefor.

C. The appointing authority of employees in the competitive service is the City Manager. The City Manager may delegate the appointing authority to any other officer or employee of the city.

(Ord. 91-05 § 2.60.060)

All regular appointments, including promotional appointments, shall be for a probationary period in accordance with applicable provisions of the personnel policies. Determinations as to satisfactory completion or extension of such period, and/or rejection of an employee during such period, shall also be consistent with the applicable provisions of the personnel policies and procedures.

(Ord. 91-05 § 2.60.070)

A. Any person holding a position in the competitive service who, on the effective date of this chapter, shall have served continuously in such position, or in some other position in the competitive service for period equal to the probationary period prescribed in the personnel policies and procedures for his or her class, shall assume regular status in the competitive service in the position held on such effective date without qualifying test, and shall thereafter be subject in all respects to the provisions of this chapter and the personnel policies and procedures.

B. Any other persons holding positions in the competitive service shall be regarded as probationers who are serving out the balance of their probationary periods as prescribed in the personnel policies and procedures before obtaining regular status. The probationary period shall be computed from the date of appointment or employment.

C. All employees as defined under this section are employed subject to the personnel system established herein which, in accordance with Government Code Section 53291, supercedes any other system.

(Ord. 91-05 § 2.60.080)

The City Manager or any appointing authority shall have the authority to demote, discharge, reprimand, reduce in pay, or suspend any regular employee for cause in accordance with procedures included in the personnel policies.

(Ord. 91-05 § 2.60.090)

Any employee in the competitive service shall have the right to appeal a demotion, reduction in pay, suspension exceeding five days, or discharge for disciplinary reasons, except in those instances where the right of appeal is specifically prohibited by this chapter or the policies and procedures adopted thereunder. All appeals shall be processed in accordance with the requirements and the procedures as set forth in the personnel policies and procedures adopted pursuant to this chapter.

(Ord. 91-05 § 2.60.100)

Lay off and reemployment actions shall follow the process outlined in the personnel policies.

(Ord. 91-05 § 2.60.110)

The political activities of city employees shall conform to the pertinent provisions of state law and any local provision adopted pursuant to state law.

(Ord. 91-05 § 2.60.120)

The City Manager shall consider and make recommendations to the City Council regarding the extent to which the city should contract for the performance of technical personnel system. The City Council may contract with any qualified person or public or private agency for the performance of all or any of the following responsibilities and duties imposed by this chapter.

(Ord. 91-05 § 2.60.130)

The Council shall appropriate such funds as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. 91-05 § 2.60.140)

Whenever in the judgment of the Council it becomes necessary in the interests of economy or because the necessity for the position involved no longer exists, the Council may abolish any position or employment in the classified service and discharge the employee or officer holding such position or employment.

(Ord. 91-05 § 2.60.150)