Alabama Administrative Code Chapter 670-X-7 — Position Classification Plan

670 Alabama State Personnel Board

Ala. Admin. Code r. 670-X-7-.01 Maintenance

(1) The Director shall administer and maintain the classification plan in accordance with the State Merit System Law, such approvals required by the Board or the Governor, and these rules.

(2) The classification plan shall be maintained on a current basis by the timely establishment and abolition of classes, the allocation and reallocation of positions, and the periodic review of all positions and classes within the plan shall be accomplished every five years, either by instituting a program to ensure that approximately 20% of covered positions are reviewed each year; or causing a statewide review of all positions and classes at least once every five years.

History

• Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, §36-26-11.
• Filed September 29, 1981. Amended: Filed May 20, 2015; effective June 24, 2015.

Ala. Admin. Code r. 670-X-7-.02 Revision Of The Plan

Existing classes may be abolished or changed or new classes added on recommendation of the Director and favorable vote of the Board in a meeting. New classes and pay range changes must be approved by the Governor.

History

• Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, §36-26-11.
• Filed September 29, 1981. Amended: Filed May 20, 2015; effective June 24, 2015.

Ala. Admin. Code r. 670-X-7-.03 Uses Of The Classification Plan

All provisions of the plan shall be observed in the handling of personnel activities and transactions. The titles assigned to positions by their allocation to the classes established by the classification plan shall be used in all personnel, accounting, financial records, and communications of all state departments. Working titles used in the course of departmental routine to indicate authority, status in the organization, or administrative rank may be continued in use for these purposes.

History

• Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, §36-26-11.
• Filed September 29, 1981. Amended: Filed May 20, 2015; effective June 24, 2015.

Ala. Admin. Code r. 670-X-7-.04 Allocation Of Positions To Classes

Every position in the state service shall be allocated to one of the classes established by the classification plan. Those positions which are substantially similar with respect to difficulty, responsibility, and character of work, require generally the same kind and amount of training and experience for proper performance, and merit approximately equal pay shall be allocated to the same class. The class specifications for the class series in the service shall be considered in allocating positions to classes and shall be interpreted as follows:

(a) Class specifications are descriptive only and are not restrictive. The use of a particular expression of duties, qualifications, requirements, or other attributes shall not be held to exclude others not mentioned if such others are similar as to kind or quality.

(b) In determining the class to which any position shall be allocated, the specifications for each class shall be considered as a whole. Consideration is to be given to the general duties, specific tasks, responsibilities required, qualifications and relationships to other classes as affording together a picture of the positions that the class is intended to include.

(c) Class specifications shall be construed as a general description of the kinds of work characteristic of positions allocated to a class and not as prescribing what the duties of any position shall be, nor as limiting the expressed or implied power of the authority now or hereafter vested with the right to prescribe or alter the duties of any position.

(d) The fact that the actual tasks performed by the incumbent of a position do not appear in the specification for the class to which the position has been allocated shall not be taken to mean that the position is necessarily excluded from the class. Nor shall any one example of a typical task taken without relation to the parts of the specification be construed as determining that a position should be allocated to the class.

(e) The statement of compensable factors expresses the minimum background in terms of education and experience which would likely be required of any new appointee to a position in the class as evidence of his ability to perform the work properly, and is to be so construed and not as imposing in itself any new or additional requirements upon incumbents of positions. Although they may not be expressed, such qualifications as should properly be required of incumbents of all or any positions, such as honesty, security clearance, sobriety and industry, are taken for granted.

History

• Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, §36-26-11.
• Filed September 29, 1981. Amended: Filed May 20, 2015; effective June 24, 2015.

Ala. Admin. Code r. 670-X-7-.05 Allocation Of New Positions

When new positions are created in any department, complete job descriptions shall be furnished to the Director by the department, and he shall study the duties and responsibilities of the new position and determine the proper classification. If any appropriate classification does not already exist he shall prepare a new class specification and submit it to the Board for approval.

History

• Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, §36-26-11.
• Filed September 29, 1981. Amended: Filed May 20, 2015; effective June 24, 2015.

Ala. Admin. Code r. 670-X-7-.06 Reallocations

(1) An appointing authority shall report to the Director the addition of new essential assignments or the taking away of old essential ones. The Director shall investigate such changes in order to provide a basis for determining the effect on the classification of the position.

(2) The Director shall, on his own initiative, make periodic investigations of any and all positions in order to determine changes in duties and responsibilities of positions as a basis for keeping the classification plan up-to-date.

(3) An employee may at any time make a request in writing to the Director for a review of the description of his position. The request shall set forth the employee's reasons for the review and must be substantiated by his supervisor and the appointing authority. If such reasons appear to be substantial, the Director shall make an investigation of the position with a view to determine the correctness or incorrectness of the allocation and the adjustment necessary.

(4) When it is found by any of the methods outlined above that a position is not in the most appropriate class, the Director shall reallocate it to the most appropriate class using the method listed below.

(5) A position that is reallocated to a higher class should normally be filled by certification and appointment from the open competitive or promotional register. However, if the incumbent has been performing the duties that are the basis for reallocation for one year in a completely satisfactory manner, he may be given status in the new class, if his name is among the upper one-half of those on the register at the time his name was originally placed on the register and official documentation is provided. Provided, however, that if the incumbent has been performing the duties that are the basis for reallocation for five years or more in a completely satisfactory manner, he will be reallocated to the new class if his name appears on the register and official documentation is provided to support the higher classification. In both instances, the employee will be placed into the higher class with status and will not be eligible for either promotional or probationary increase.

(6) If the incumbent does not appear qualified for the new class to which the position is being reallocated, or if he fails to qualify on examination, he may be transferred to a position in the class for which he has previously qualified or be laid off if there is no position to which he may be transferred, and the position filled by a qualified person.

History

• Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, §36-26-11.
• Filed September 29, 1981. Amended: Filed May 20, 2015; effective June 24, 2015.