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AN ORDINANCE REVISING CHAPTER 13, SECTIONS 13-2, 13-4, 13-7, 13-8, 13-14, 13-16, 13-18, 13-23.1, 13-28, AND 13-39 OF THE DULUTH CITY CODE.
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CITY PROPOSAL:
The city of Duluth does ordain:
Section 1: That Chapter 13, Section 13-2 Definitions are hereby revised as follows:
The definitions provided for in the Minnesota Public Employment Labor Relations Act (PELRA), 2012 Minnesota Statutes Chapter 179A, whether subsequently amended or rescinded, are hereby incorporated into this Chapter to the fullest extent allowed by Minnesota law. The following additional definitions apply to this Chapter:
(a) Appointing authority. The city administratorchief administrative officer, department head or acting department head, or staff officer appointed pursuant to the cCharter or statute;
(b) Board. The civil service board established pursuant to Chapter V of the Charter;
(c) Charter. The City Charter for the city of Duluth;
(d) City administratorChief administrative officer. The city administratorchief administrative officerfor the city or such officer’s designee;
(e) Class or class of positions. A group of positions established under this Chapter sufficiently similar in respect to the duties, responsibilities qualifications, and authority that the same descriptive title may be used to designate each position allocated to the class;
(f) Class description. A description of the major duties of each class, examples of tasks performed, and the minimum qualifications required, and other essential functions of the class;
(g) Classification plan. The classes of positions within the classified service;
(h) Classified employee. Any employee, except an employee provisionally appointed, who, in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, occupies any position in the classified service, or who is on leave of absence from such position if such position is held vacant pending the employee’s return;
(i) Classified service. Any position in the service of the city except the following:
(1) Any position excluded from the definition of public employee under applicable state law; or
(2) Any other position which is exempted from the classified service by the Charter;
(j) Eligible. Any person whose name is on a reappointment, re-employment, internal-employment or open-employment list for a given class and who continues to meet the minimum qualifications for the position;
(k) Eligible list. A list of the names of persons who have been found qualified for employment in positions in the classified service, including the names of persons on the reappointment, re-employment, promotional, internal-employment and open-employment lists;
(l) Employment test. A test or group of tests used to determine the relative fitness of applicants for positions allocated to a class;
(m) Internal-employment list. A list of names of persons currently employed in the classified service who have qualified through employment tests administered by the secretary for employment in other positions allocated to a different class;
(n) Layoff series. A list of class titles that has been created to allow a qualified employee to bump into a lower classification, and whose order has been negotiated as provided in a collective bargaining agreement to which the city is a party;
(o) Open-employment list. A list of names of persons who have qualified through employment tests administered by the secretary for employment in positions allocated to a class within the classification plan;
(p) Organization unit. Any department, office or division of the city government commonly recognized as a unit for purposes of administration;
(q) Position. A full or part-time job held by one person, unless the job is filled by a job sharing arrangement;
(r) Promotional list. A list containing the names of persons currently employed in the classified service in the police or fire departments in a lower class of position, as determined by pay range, who have qualified through employment tests administered by the secretary for promotion to a higher class of position in the same department;
(s) Public Employment Labor Relations Act (PELRA). 2012 Minnesota Statutes Chapter 179A. PELRA regulates labor relations between the city, its employees and the labor organizations that represent city employees;
(t) Reappointment list. A list containing the names of city employees within the classified service who have been demoted for non-disciplinary reasons;
(u) Re-employment list. A list of the names of persons who have occupied permanent positions allocated to any class, who have been separated from the service as a result of layoff or approved leave of absence, and who, in accordance with this Chapter, are entitled to have their names certified to the appointing authority when vacancies in the class are to be filled;
(v) Secretary. The manager of human resources for the city or the manager’s designee.
Section 2: That Chapter 13, Section 13-4 Meetings of the board are hereby revised as follows:
All meetings of the board shall be open to the public as required by state law. A simple majority of the board membership then serving shall constitute a quorum for meeting purposes. Any meeting shall be adjourned in the absence of a quorum. Regular mMeetings of the board shall be scheduled once per month. The board shall make the determination of whether to hold or cancel meeting. when there is no business requiring board action. Special meetings of the board may be held at any time on the call of the secretary or the board chair, or pursuant to the standing rules of the board.
Section 3: That Chapter 13, Section 13-7 Establishment of and amendments to the classification plan are hereby revised as follows:
(a) Prior to approval, Mmanagement shall meet, review, discuss, and confer with the applicable union personnel committee, labor management committee or appropriate union representative regarding all new and revised class descriptions of all positions within the classification planprior to approval by the board and city council;
(b) The classification of all positions within the classified service shall be approved by the city administratorchief administrative officer;
(c) An appointing authority, subject to the approval of the city administratorchief administrative officer, shall determine the classifications to be utilized within any organizational unit under the supervisory authority of such appointing authority;
(d) The city administratorchief administrative officer may abolish existing classes that are obsolete and no longer in usesubject to the approval of city council.
Section 4: That Chapter 13, Section 13-8 Reclassification of positions are hereby revised as follows:
(a) If, after the evaluation of a position, it is the opinion of the secretary that there has been a significant change in the duties of such position, the secretary may assign such position to either a different current classification or to a new classification created by the secretary, both subject to the approval of the city administratorchief administrative officer. New job classifications created as a result of this process shall also comply with Section 13-7. The board may modify new job classifications created by the secretary, subject to the chief administrative officer’s approval. New job classifications, including any approved amendments, shall be submitted to city council for approval, but not until the employee’s appeal period pursuant to this Chapter has expired;
(b) Upon reclassification of the position, the administratorchief administrative officero shall, after receipt of the secretary’s and appointing authority’s recommendation, determine whether the reclassified position will be filled through an employment test or by the appointment of the incumbent of the former position to the reclassified position. The secretary shall notify the affected employee in writing at least ten calendar days prior to implementation of the administrator’schief administrative officer determination;
The secretary shall inform the board of the status of all new, pending and completed job audits at each board meeting.
Section 5: That Chapter 13, Section 13-14 Grounds for rejection of applicants are hereby revised as follows:
Any of the following may be deemed sufficient cause for rejecting an applicant, though rejection may be made for causes other than those enumerated:
(a) That the applicant failed to timely file their application;
(b) That the applicant is found to lack any of the minimum qualifications as stated in the class description;
(c) That the applicant is unable to perform the essential functions of the class;
(d) That the applicant has been removed from previous employment with the city for cause, delinquency or misconduct;
(e) That the applicant has made a false statement in their application;
(f) That the applicant has been previously employed in the classified service and has been removed for cause or did not resign in good standing
(g) That the external applicant has repeatedly engaged in conduct suggesting a lack of genuine interest in employment or has demonstrated disruptive or unprofessional behavior during the hiring process.
Section 6: That Chapter 13, Section 13-16 Creation of eligible list are hereby revised as follows:
(a) Following the completion of test scoring, the secretary shall prepare an eligible list showing the names of the test participants, the raw score of each participant in each test or group of tests and the participant’s total weighted score;
(b) The names of the participants shall be arranged on the eligible list in the order of total weighted scores with the highest first; provided, that if two or more participants have the same weighted score, those names shall be placed on the eligible list in the same rank; the list shall be presented to the board for non-public review at the next meeting of the board;
(c) In no case shall the name of any applicant be included on an eligible list if the applicant fails to obtain a passing score on any test or group of tests, as stated in the notice of the test.
Section 7: That Chapter 13, Section 13-18 Duration of eligible lists are hereby revised as follows:
(a) An eligible lost shall become effective on the date the list is approved by the secretary;
(b) The secretary is authorized to extend an open eligible list, not to exceed seven months;
(b)(c) Any name placed on a reappointment list shall remain on the list for five years. Any name shall be removed if the person separates from the classified service for any reason;
(c)(d) Any name placed on a re-employment list due to a layoff shall remain on the list for the person’s class and any lower class of that layoff series until such time that the person is rehired, has indicated he/shethey wishes to have his/hertheir name removed from the list, or has refused to accept an appointment offered him or herto them unless a different period of time is specified in a collective bargaining agreement to which the city is a party;
(d)(e) Any name placed on a re-employment list for reasons other than layoff shall remain on the list for a period of one year.
Section 8: That Chapter 13, Section 13-23.1 Certification of eligibles are hereby revised as follows:
Whenever a vacancy in a position in the classified service is to be filled other than by transfer or demotion, the appointing authority shall request that the secretary certify the names of the persons eligible for appointment.
(a) The secretary shall certify from the list in the following order: reappointment, re-employment, promotional, internal-employment and/or open-employment list;
(b) When certification from a reappointment or re-employment list is made, the secretary shall certify the name of the person whose name is highest on the list and who still meets the qualifications of the classification;
(c) When certification from a promotional or internal-employment list is made, the secretary shall certify the names of the three persons highest on the internal employment list; however, when more than one vacancy is to be filled, the number of names certified shall be twice the number of such vacancies. If the internal-employment list has lessfewer than three names, additional names may be certified from the open- employment list. Certification shall start with the name in the highest position on the promotional or internal- employment list. When certification is made from a rank consisting of more than one name, the names of all persons in such tied rank shall be certified;
(d) With the exception of an entry level open-employment list in the firefighter organization unit, Wwhen certification from an open employment list is made, the secretary shall certify the names of a minimum of the three seven persons highest on the open employment list. If the list includes fewer than three names of persons deemed eligible, the names of all persons should be certified. When more than one vacancy is to be filled, at least three names, if available, an additional two names shall be certified for each additional vacancy. When certification from an entry level open-employment list in the firefighter organization unit is made, the secretary shall certify the names of the seven persons highest on the open-employment list; however, when more than one vacancy is to be filled, an additional two names shall be certified for each additional vacancy. The secretary shall additionally certify names pursuant to Section 13-23.2. When certification is made from a rank consisting of more than one name, the names of all persons in such tied rank shall be certified;
(e) The appointing authority may also request the certification of the name of an additional eligible in case one whose name was first certified withdraws from consideration, does not accept the position or does not respond to the appointing authority’s communications;
(f) The secretary shall provide notice of certification by mail or via electronic communication to the applicant certified at the last notification address appearing in the secretary’s records;
(g) The notification shall advise the applicant of the certification, the title of the position, the organization unit, the name and address of the appointing authority and other appropriate instructions.
(h) A copy of the notice shall be sent to the appointing authority.
Section 9: That Chapter 13, Section 13-28 Temporary vacancies in permanent positions are hereby revised as follows:
(a) A vacancy created by the absence of the incumbent shall be known as a temporary vacancy in a permanent position, and any person appointed to fill such vacancy shall be known as a substitute in that position;
(b) Whenever a temporary vacancy in a permanent position occurs, the appointing authority may fill the position through certification in the following order: from the reappointment list, re-employment list, internal-employment list or open-employment list, as provided for in these rules;
(c) The substitute appointment shall terminate upon the return of the incumbent. Upon termination, one of the following actions shall occur:
1. If the substitute has not completed the probation period, the substitute’s name shall be restored to the eligible list from which certification occurred. If that list has expired, the substitute shall be terminated; however, if the appointment was made from an internal-employment list, the substitute shall be returned to the position previously held;
2. If the substitute has completed the probation period, the substitute’s name shall be placed on a re-employment list and if hired from an internal employment list, the substitute shall be returned to the position previously held;
(d) In such cases where it is determined that the incumbent will not return to the position, the substitute shall be appointed to the position as the regular employee if the substitute has successfully completed the probation period;
(e) In such cases where a permanent vacancy occurs in a classification with one or more substitutes, the appointing authority may appoint an employee serving as a substitute in said classification as the regular employee, even if the incumbent for the substitute has not returned;
(e)(f) If no eligible list exists, or no person certified from such list accepts the appointment, the appointing authority may fill the position with a provisional appointment.
Section 10: That Chapter 13, Section 13-29 Appeals to the board are hereby revised as follows:
(a) Right to appeal. Any applicant participating in a selection process for a position within the classified service and any current classified employee whose civil service status is directly affected by an action taken by the secretary pursuant to this Chapter may appeal to the board as provided in this Section;
(b) Manner and time for appeal. An appeal is perfected by filing a notice of appeal within ten calendar days after the secretary’s written notification of the action. The notice of appeal shall be in writing, shall contain a complete statement of the matter in controversy and the relief requested, and shall be signed and dated by the appellant. The notice shall be addressed to the board and filed with the office of the secretary. Filing may be accomplished by electronic submission, personal delivery or United States mail addressed to the secretary; however, filing shall not be timely unless the notice of appeal is received in the office of the secretary within the time fixed for appeal;
(c) Reporting notice of appeal to the board. The secretary shall forward appeal notices to all board members within seven calendar days of receiving them;
(d) Secretary’s authority to reject appeals. The secretary shall reject any appeal received after the time limit provided by this Section;
(e) Hearing of appeals. The secretary shall call a meeting of the board to hear the appeal within 30 calendar days, if possible;
(e)(f) Board scope of authority. Unless otherwise provided by this Chapter, state or federal law, or required by a collective bargaining agreement, the board’s jurisdiction shall be to hear and render a decision on:
(1) Appeals challenging the fairness or scoring of a test, including the number of veteran’s preference points allotted to an applicant;
(2) Appeals from applicants that have been rejected under Section 13-13 of this Code;
(3) Appeals of the secretary’s action related to placement on a reappointment or re-employment list;
(4) Appeals from applicants on an eligible list canceled by the secretary pursuant to Section 13-21(a);
(5) Appeals of the secretary’s action under this Chapter that directly impacts the civil service status of a current classified employee;
(6) Appeals from the secretary’s decision not to perform a job audit requested by a classified employee;
(7) Appeals from the secretary’s decision not to change an employee’s job classification following a job audit of that employee’s position;
(8) In rendering its decision, the board shall not modify or waive any of the qualifications, skills, abilities or experience requirements provided for in the classification description; this restriction of modification and waiver will not prevent the board from hearing appeals of the secretary’s interpretation of qualifications, skills, abilities or experience requirements as stated in the job description and job announcement;
(f)(g) Limitation of board authority. Unless otherwise required by the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement to which the city is a party, the board shall have no authority to hear the appeal of a dispute that is subject to the grievance article of a collective bargaining agreement;
(g)(h) Suspension of employment process pending appeal. The filing of a timely appeal shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the applicable employment action;
(h)(i) Notification of board decision. After due deliberation, the board shall render its decision on the record. Within ten calendar days of the board’s decision the secretary shall provide written notice of the decision to the appellant and appointing authority. The notice of decision shall be delivered by any reasonable means. The secretary shall provide a copy of the record of decision upon request and as required by Minnesota law. The appellant shall be deemed to have actual notice of the decision on the date the decision was rendered if the appellant or the appellant’s representative was present during the meeting at which the board took the action;
(i)(j) Finality of board decision. All decisions of the board are final. Any party aggrieved by a decision of the board may appeal as authorized by Minnesota law;
(j)(k) Implementation of board decision. The secretary shall implement the decision of the board, and in so doing shall determine and implement steps necessary to ensure that legal compliance is maintained.
Section 11: That this ordinance shall take effect 30 days after its passage and publication.
Statement of Purpose
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE: The purpose of this ordinance is to revise existing Civil Service Rules to update certain job titles, create efficiencies with the process for creating and certifying eligible lists and with revising and creating classification descriptions, and to move the Civil Service Board to meeting as needed to hear appeals.