2. Merit system amendments - Laserfiche WebLink

Ms. Laurie Sterioti Hammeren February 15, 2008 Page 4 5. "Regular status" means a category of employment that applies to an individual employed in a classified position, who was selected for a position on an open, competitive basis and who has successfully completed IRe E six-month or lonqer probationary period. History: Effective September 1, 1992; amended effective July 1, 1995; November 1, 1996~. General Authority: NDCC 54-44.3 Law Implemented: NDCC 54-44.3 COMMENTS ON SPECIFIC ISSUES While the scope of the merit system, as defined by these proposed amendments, is the overriding issue, many of the other proposed changes appear to be usurping the powers of county government and delivering unfunded mandates to local jurisdictions. When we received the first amendments to Article 4-07 from your office, we made immediate calls to various public officials to inquire about the direction these policies were taking and two of the proposed amendments were subsequently withdrawn. We appreciate the quick response on reversing requirements on two new mandates. These mandates would have required local governments to accept transfers of accrued annual leave and accrued sick leave for all new merit system employees hired. Several similar sections have not been changed at the time of this writing, and we will make further comment on those sections as follows: (I, 1/ and III) I. Please note the proposed amendment for the annual leave section printed directly belowthis paragraph. The new regulations are changing a recommended annual leave schedule to a required leave schedule and removing the option of counties filing their own schedule with the human resource management services which would ensure that all county employees in a given county would be on the same annual leave schedule. If this change were accepted, employees working side by side would have different leave accumulations, which not only causes morale problems but extreme payroll difficulties.