The Civil Service Commission has established the Civil Service Adviser to enhance delivery of information on important employment issues and policies affecting the merit system of the City & County of San Francisco.  The Adviser is a summary only.  It does not supercede or amend the City’s governing documents and policies, the terms of which will control over the content of the Adviser.

OUT-OF-CLASS ASSIGNMENT

Important Changes to Rules on Out-Of-Class Assignment

This issue of the Civil Service Adviser covers recent, important changes in the Rules and procedures on out-of-class assignments affecting employees in all classes except the Uniformed Ranks of the San Francisco Police and Fire Departments.

Department Head Authority

Department heads have very broad discretion in the assignment of employees.  Work assignments of employees under the authority of the department head must be consistent with the kind of duties and level of responsibility of the employee’s class. These assignments, although consistent with the class, may not always be listed in the class specification.

Department Heads may also make a temporary out-of-class assignment to maintain the provision of any public service.  This means the assignment of an employee without change in class to perform the day – to - day duties and responsibilities of another class.

Documentation Required

Consistent with Civil Service Commission Rules and long standing policy and practice, out-of-class assignments must be properly documented.  Civil Service Commission Rules and policy require that out-of-class assignments be recorded and placed in the personnel file at the same time (contemporaneous) the assignment is made. When the required documentation is not placed in an employee’s file, employees who at the direction of their supervisor or manager “step up to the plate” to perform the duties of another classification may be seriously penalized and not receive credit for the experience when applying for promotional opportunities.  Both managers and employees have responsibility to see that assignments of out-of-class job duties are correctly documented and placed in the personnel file.

Credit for Out-of-Class Work

Civil Service Commission Rules state that City and County employees shall receive credit only for the duties of the class to which appointed or assigned unless sufficient and credible documentation is provided to verify performance of other duties.  Employees may receive credit for duties if their employee file contains contemporaneous documentation that out-of-class duties were assigned and performed.  By way of example but not limitation, records that describe and verify the out-of-class assignment that may be accepted as “contemporaneous” documentation include a valid performance appraisal completed during the normal evaluation period, payroll records, and Notice of Assignment.

The Human Resources Director and the Director of Transportation/Designee for Service-Critical Classes at the Municipal Transportation Agency are responsible for reviewing the duties performed and appropriate documentation in making a judgment on an individual’s qualifications and any credit that may be applied toward examinations.

Important Changes

The Civil Service Commission recently adopted very important changes to its Rules on out-of-class assignment.  Specifically, the Rules now allow credit for out-of-class duties based on non-contemporaneous documentation with the certification of the Appointing Officer and the approval of the Human Resources Director, or, for Service-Critical classes at the Municipal Transportation Agency certification of the Deputy Director, Labor Relations and Human Resources, and the approval of the Director of Transportation

Previously, duties performed as an out-of-class assignment that were not recorded contemporaneously were NOT credited as qualifying experience in examinations.

Appeals to the Civil Service Commission

In accordance with Civil Service Commission Rules 109 and 409, decisions of the Human Resources Director and the Director of Transportation/designee for service-critical classes at the Municipal Transportation Agency may be appealed to the Civil Service Commission.