2. Merit system amendments - Laserfiche WebLink

Cass County Commissioners April 16, 2008 Page 2 The county commission's letter of February 15, 2008, also made a request for the North Dakota Human Resource Management Services to attempt to resolve this issue by seeking an Attorney General's opinion on the question of "for cause employment" and "at-will employment" as addressed in the proposed regulations. This question was raised by our Board because earlier provisions of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 5, Volume 2, Subpart F, stated in part "the requirements provide that permanent employees will not be subject to separation except for cause or such reasons as curtailment or lack of funds". The Federal regulations, however, have been amended; currently that section now reads in part, "retaining employees on the basis of the adequacy of their performance, correcting inadequate performance, and separating employees whose inadequate performance cannot be corrected". It is unknown to me whether the Attorney General's opinion has been requested or whether Human Resource Management Services is open to discussing the amended Federal regulations which govern merit system principles. Without this change, Cass County would have further objections over the new proposed definition in 4-07-28-02 concerning probationary status, and all of the "for cause" provisions in the new chapter. "For cause" is distinct from an "at-will" employment arrangement. "At-will" means either party may terminate the employment relationship at any time for any reason. This is the law in North Dakota, as in most other states. The "for cause" standard is typically applied to employees who have a property interest in the employment relationship. Teachers who have received tenure status, for example, enjoy property rights in their employment relationships. The same is true for unionized employees. The Board chairman has requested I discuss these issues with you prior to the Social Services board meeting on May 5, 2008. At that time, Laurie Sterioti Hammeren will be present from Human Resource Management Services in Bismarck to discuss the February letter. Following this memo will be a suggested outline for that meeting. Enclosures cc: Birch Burdick, State's Attorney Kathy Hogan, Social Services Director