The Personnel Reform bill made some headway this week in the State Legislature. It’s a complicated bill and hasn’t been through the full process yet- but I know there’s a lot of interest in it around these parts- so I’ll try to distill the current version down a little bit for our agency.
Basically, if you’re Grade 19 or above or are a Supervisor you’d become “Uncovered” on September 29th. If you’re Grade 18 or under (and haven’t had a break in service) then you’d be able to stay covered by the Merit System- or you could elect to go Uncovered voluntarily. All new ADHS hires would be Uncovered. Also, all employees that accept a promotion would be Uncovered. The system would also include some protections for Uncovered folks like require a comprehensive HR policy such as reviews for all employees. Of course, all this assumes that the bill stays in its current form, is passed by the State House and Senate and is signed by the Governor. The proposed 5% raise for Uncovered folks is a separate proposal that’s part of the budget negotiations.
