Attachment A - Personnel Rule 5 & 15.pdf

Attachment A 
 
 
 
PURPOSE – The proposed amendments to Personnel Rule 5f improve current City practice 
on addressing seniority when reclassifying filled positions.  The proposed amendments to 
Personnel Rule 15e are to ensure compliance, at a minimum, with State law.   
New language to be included in the Personnel Rules is identified in all capital letters.  
Deletions are indicated by strikethrough. For convenience all amendments, including 
formatting changes, are highlighted in yellow.

RULE 5 
 
CLASSIFICATION PLAN 
 
 
5f. 
Reclassification of Filled Positions 
The Human Resources Director shall from time to time, or upon request of the 
appointing authority, investigate any or all positions in the classified service. 
The findings of the Human Resources Director shall be reported to the 
appointing authority, the incumbent(s) of the position(s), and the Human 
Resources Committee. Affected employees and their authorized labor 
representative shall be given a reasonable opportunity to be heard by the 
Human Resources Committee. The Human Resources Committee shall 
reclassify such positions as it finds improperly classified to the correct classes. 
If the SUPERVISOR VERIFIES AN incumbent has been successfully 
performing the substantial portion of duties of the new classification for over 
AT LEAST one year IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF 
THE CHANGE, they shall not be required to serve the one-year period of 
probation stipulated in Rule 10; AND FOR INCUMBENTS WHO HAVE NOT 
COMPLETED PROBATION, ANY PROBATION THEY HAVE SERVED IN 
THE PREVIOUS CLASSIFICATION WILL COUNT TOWARDS PROBATION 
IN THE NEW CLASSIFICATION. For seniority calculations under Rule 14 and 
16, or in cases where a probationary period is required, the time in the new 
classification shall begin when the reclassification action approved by the 
Human Resources Committee becomes effective IF AN INCUMBENT HAS 
NOT BEEN SUCCESSFULLY PERFORMING THE SUBSTANTIAL PORTION 
OF DUTIES OF THE NEW CLASSIFICATION FOR AT LEAST ONE YEAR 
IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE CHANGE. IF AN 
INCUMBENT HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY PERFORMING THE 
SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF DUTIES OF THE NEW CLASSIFICATION FOR 
AT LEAST ONE YEAR, THEIR PRIOR LENGTH OF TIME IN THE 
PREVIOUS CLASSIFICATION SHALL CONTINUE WITHOUT 
INTERRUPTION. If a filled position at any time is reclassified to a different 
classification in order to correctly and accurately classify it, the incumbent 
shall be assigned by the Human Resources Committee as follows: 
 
1. Position moved to a higher graded classification: The incumbent shall be 
moved into the higher classification. If the incumbent does not meet the 
minimum qualifications of the higher classification, they shall be allowed to 
underfill the position for up to one year.  
 
2. Position moved to a different classification in an equivalent pay grade: The 
incumbent shall be moved into the new classification. Pay ranges with 
slight differences because of labor-negotiated rates shall be considered 
equivalent and the Human Resources Director is authorized to rule on 
such matters.  
 
3. Position moved to a lower graded classification: The incumbent shall be 
transferred into a vacant position in the higher classification. If no vacancy 
exists, the incumbent shall retain their current rate of pay, consistent with 
the Y-rating policy in effect, and shall overfill the position until a position

vacancy occurs. If no vacancy becomes available and the period of Y-
rating expires, or in the absence of a Y-rating policy, the Human 
Resources Director may place the employee in an equivalent classification 
with similar qualifications.  If all other options are unsuccessful, the 
employee shall be entitled to bump as provided in the layoff/recall rule.   
 
Classification changes as a result of reclassification shall not be considered a 
promotion, transfer, or demotion, regardless of whether the grade assignment 
changes or not. Pay changes as a result of a reclassification action are 
defined and described in the pay ordinance in effect at the time of the 
personnel action.

RULE 15 
 
LEAVES OF ABSENCE 
 
15e. Military Leave  
15e1.  National Guard: Leave for National Guard shall be as specified in, AT A 
MINIMUM, COMPLY WITH State law (A.R.S. Section 26-168) and BE issued 
by Administrative Regulation. 
15e2. Military Reserve: Leave for Armed Services Reserve shall be as specified in, AT 
A MINIMUM, COMPLY WITH State law (A.R.S. Section 38-610) and BE issued 
by Administrative Regulation. 
15e3.  United States Armed Services in Wartime: All employees shall be entitled to an 
indefinite leave of absence without pay while serving on active duty in the 
military branch of the United States Government during time of war. This leave 
allowance also shall cover absences resulting from compulsory military training 
orders in peacetime. The position from which an employee is on military leave, 
if filled, shall be subject to the return of the employee from military leave. 
The employee returning from military leave shall be reinstated to their position 
upon their request and presentation of their military termination papers to the 
Human Resources Director if they are physically fit to perform the duties of their 
former position. If the former position is no longer in existence, the employee 
shall be entitled to such employment or reinstatement rights as their seniority 
and performance rating entitle them. They shall be allowed ninety days to report 
to the department head for duty after the date of discharge or proper release 
from the Armed Services. 
Employees on military leave of absence will be awarded a merit increase upon 
their return in accordance with USERRA.