Wednesday, May 13, 2009

House Panel backs bill to use other factors in state employee layoffs

Legislation urging state Civil Service to move away from seniority as the sole factor in who goes and who stays when employee layoffs are required has been approved by a Louisiana House panel.

The House and Governmental Affairs Committee approved a resolution seeking use of other factors such as knowledge, performance and ability in the decision-making process.

The same measure — House Concurrent Resolution 6 — also requests that state government’s employment agency revise the system to give bosses “greater flexibility in compensating employees based on job duties and evaluations of performance.”

Its part of a package of bills endorsed by the panel aimed at changing the layoff and pay policies of the agency that oversees more than 60,000 state employees.

“This is not an indictment of the state Civil Service system,” said state Rep. Mike Danahay, D-Sulphur, resolution sponsor. “It is an effort to bring resource management to the state Civil Service.”

3 comments:

Depressed1 said...

I wonder if the state legislature will soon dismantle the entire Civil Service Commission. If the legislature can dictate all this, I think that those working in the Civil Service commission ought to be concerned. If things continue, we won't need them. The protection of state employees was always a "calling card" for hiring qualified people. Now there is no protection, decrease in benefits, no cost of living raises, and no merit increases. Seems like the state is trying to decrease its workforce in an unethical manner. I think all this is "politics as usual", which has always drawn criticism from the rest of the country.

Tracan23 said...

what do we have to do to be like the teachers and have the ability to have a voice?

Anonymous said...

Under existing guidelines for state employees there is little we can do,which is why this is getting rammed through. We do not have a lobbying group like teachers and other than contacting your individual legislator, there is little we can do.I am afraid over the next few years there will be more negative changes for state employees.