Bill Text: CA AB2328 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Civil service: Limited Examination and Appointment Program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-16 - In committee: Hearing postponed by committee. [AB2328 Detail]
Download: California-2019-AB2328-Introduced.html
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 2328
| Introduced by Assembly Member Cristina Garcia |
February 14, 2020 |
An act to amend Sections 19057.1, 19233, and 19242.2 of, to add Article 4 (commencing with Section 19245) to Chapter 5.5 of Part 2 of Division 5 of Title 2 of, and to add and repeal Section 19238 of, the Government Code, relating to state employment.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2328, as introduced, Cristina Garcia.
Civil service: Limited Examination and Appointment Program.
Existing law creates the Department of Human Resources, which succeeds to and is vested with all of the powers and duties exercised and performed by the Department of Personnel Administration. Existing law specifically grants the department the powers, duties, and authority necessary to operate the state civil service system in accordance with Article VII of the California Constitution, the Government Code, the merit principle, and applicable rules duly adopted by the State Personnel Board. Existing law creates the Limited Examination and Appointment Program (LEAP), which the Department of Human Resources administers, to provide an alternative to the traditional civil service examination and appointment process to facilitate the hiring of persons with disabilities. Existing law will repeal certain provisions of LEAP on January 1, 2021.
Existing
law requires the Department of Human Resources, when an appointing power seeks to fill a vacant position by using an employment list, to provide the appointing power with a certified list of the names and addresses of all eligible candidates, as specified. Existing law requires the department to provide a single certified list of eligible candidates if more than one employment list or LEAP referral list exists, the department is required to combine the names and addresses of all eligible candidates.
This bill would require, notwithstanding those provisions, that the department, upon request of the appointing power, provide the appointing power a LEAP referral list without combining that list with a parallel list. The bill would require the department to establish guidelines for provision of reasonable accommodation to applicants and employees with disabilities and to promulgate a model reasonable accommodation policy, as specified.
Existing law requires each state agency to develop and implement an affirmative action employment plan for individuals with disabilities, which is to include goals and timetables.
This bill would require the department to identify 10 state agencies or departments which, as of June 2020, have at least 100 employees and have the lowest representation rate of persons with disabilities, averaged over the 5-year period from July 1, 2015. The bill would require the Department of Human Resources, by June 30, 2021, to confer with the appointing powers of these agencies or departments and would require them to adopt or revise their affirmative action employment plans to set new goals and timetables for hiring people with disabilities. As part of a plan, the bill would require each appointing power to identify, and to agree to use, 2 or more specified appointing strategies, until June 30, 2024. The bill would further require the
department, by December 31, 2024, in consultation with specified state entities and organizations representing persons with disabilities, to report to the Legislature on the number of persons with disabilities hired and retained by each appointing power during a specified 3-year period, along with other specified information. These provisions would be repealed December 31, 2028.
This bill would require the Department of Human Resources, in consultation with specified state entities and organizations representing persons with disabilities, to develop and implement a plan for the expansion of LEAP that would be subject to prescribed requirements. The bill would authorize a person with a disability who has been determined to be eligible for LEAP to request that the department assess that person’s qualifications for any job classification. The bill would require the department to conduct that assessment promptly, and if it concludes the person meets minimum
qualifications for the job classification, and if the classification has been designated as a LEAP-certified class, the bill would require the department to place that person on the applicable referral list, as provided. If the relevant job classification has not been designated as a LEAP-certified class, the bill would require the department to designate it as such and to establish a referral list for that class that includes the person’s name. The bill would also require the department to post certain information concerning LEAP on its internet website.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 19057.1 of the Government Code is amended to read:19057.1.
(a) Except for reemployment lists and State Restriction of Appointment lists, when an appointing power seeks to fill a vacant position by using an employment list, the department shall provide the appointing power with a certified list of the names and addresses of all eligible candidates whose scores at the time of certification represent the three highest ranks on the list and who have indicated a willingness to accept appointment under the conditions of employment specified. Where there is more than one employment list or Limited Examination and Appointment Program referral list, the department shall, pursuant to applicable law and board rules, provide a single certified list of(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), if requested by the appointing power, the department shall provide to the appointing power a Limited Examination and Appointment Program referral list without combining it with any parallel employment list, as described in subdivision (a) of Section 19242.2.
(b)
(c) For purposes of ranking, scores of eligibles
eligible candidates on employment lists covered by this section shall be rounded to the nearest whole percent. A rank shall consist of one or more eligibles eligible candidates with the same whole percentage score.
If the names on the list from which certification is being made represent fewer than three ranks, then, consistent with board rules, additional eligibles
eligible candidates
may be certified from the various lists next lower in order of preference until names from three ranks appear. If there are fewer than three names available for certification, and the appointing authority does not choose to appoint from among these, the appointing authority may demand certification of three names. In that case, examinations shall be conducted until at least three names may be certified by the procedure described in this section, and the appointing authority shall fill the position by appointment of one of the persons certified.
(c)
(d) Fractional examination scores shall be provided to, and used by, the Department of the California Highway
Patrol for its peace officer classes.
(d)
(e) The department may, consistent with board rules, provide for certifying more or less than three ranks where the size of the certified group is disproportionate to the number of vacancies.
SEC. 2.
Section 19233 of the Government Code is amended to read:19233.
The department shall be responsible for the following:(a) Outline specific actions to improve the representation of individuals with a disability in the state workforce and to ensure equal and fair employment practices for employees who are individuals with a disability.
(b) Survey the number of individuals with a disability in each department by at least job category and salary range for the purpose of developing goals and timetables pursuant to Section 19232 and compare those numbers with the number of individuals with a disability in the workforce.
(c) Establish guidelines for state agencies and departments to set goals and timetables to improve the
representation of individuals with a disability in the state workforce. Goals and timetables shall be set by at least job category.
(d) Establish guidelines for provision of reasonable accommodation to applicants and employees with disabilities and adopt a model reasonable accommodation policy which state agencies and departments may modify as necessary to suit their specific circumstances.
SEC. 3.
Section 19238 is added to the Government Code, to read:19238.
(a) The department shall identify the 10 state agencies or departments which, as of June 2020, have 100 or more employees and have the lowest representation rate of persons with known disabilities, averaged over the five-year period from July 1, 2015, through June 30, 2020.(b) By June 30, 2021, the department shall confer with each appointing power of an agency or department identified pursuant to subdivision (a) and require it to adopt or revise the plan required pursuant to Section 19232 to set new goals and timetables for hiring persons with disabilities. As part of the plan, each appointing power shall specify two or more of the following hiring strategies, and shall agree to utilize them until at least June 30, 2024:
(1) Use LEAP-only hiring for any hiring in classifications if parallel LEAP-certified classes are available.
(2) Work with its disability advisory committee and the department to identify department-specific classifications that can be designated as LEAP-certified classes and commit to hiring from LEAP for those classes.
(3) Ensure that at least 16 percent of those interviewed for each position are individuals with disabilities, if those individuals apply and are eligible for appointment.
(4) Commit to hiring a qualified person with a disability who is as qualified as other reachable candidates on the employment list, unless the appointing power can demonstrate that the person cannot perform the essential functions of the job, even with reasonable
accommodation and appropriate training.
(5) Make vacant positions available for internships for persons with disabilities and make every effort to hire those who successfully complete the internships.
(6) Expand outreach to the disability community and agree that no hiring process will proceed unless qualified individuals with disabilities are adequately represented in the applicant pool.
(7) Work with the department to review all duty statements to ensure that they do not use discriminatory criteria.
(8) Consult with the Department of Rehabilitation, the State Council on Developmental Disabilities, the State Independent Living Council, and other state agencies or organizations with expertise in employment of persons with disabilities, and implement any
strategy recommended by such agency or organization that the department and the appointing power, after consultation with organizations representing persons with disabilities, determine to be potentially effective in hiring persons with disabilities.
(c) The department shall promptly make the plans developed or amended pursuant to subdivision (b) available as public records.
(d) By December 31, 2024, the department, in consultation with the State Personnel Board, the Department of Rehabilitation, the State Council on Developmental Disabilities, and organizations representing persons with disabilities, shall report to the Legislature on the number of persons with disabilities hired by each appointing power identified in subdivision (a) that have developed plans described in subdivision (b) during the three-year period ending June 30, 2024, the number retained as of the end of that
period, a comparison to the hiring of persons with disabilities by the same agency in the three-year period ending June 30, 2021, an analysis of which strategies were most effective, and recommendations for future efforts to improve the hiring of persons with disabilities for all state agencies.
(e) (1) The report required to be submitted under subdivision (d) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795.
(2) Pursuant to Section 10231.5, this section is repealed on December 31, 2028.
SEC. 4.
Section 19242.2 of the Government Code, as added by Section 11 of Chapter 356 of the Statutes of 2015, is amended to read:19242.2.
(a) The department or its designee shall refer the names of persons with disabilities who meet eligibility criteria for participation and the minimum qualifications of the job classification and any other requirements deemed appropriate by the board to appointing powers for examination appointments. At the request of the appointing power, the department shall furnish a referral list described in this subdivision without combining it with parallel employment lists pursuant to Section 19057.1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and to provide for appropriate job-person placement, all candidates meeting referral requirements shall be eligible for examination appointment. The department may prescribe the method for referring names to appointing powers.(b) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2021.
SEC. 5.
Article 4 (commencing with Section 19245) is added to Chapter 5.5 of Part 2 of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read:Article 4. LEAP Expansion Plan
19245.
(a) After consultation with the State Personnel Board, the Department of Rehabilitation, the State Department of Developmental Services, the State Council on Developmental Disabilities, and organizations representing persons with disabilities, the department shall, by July 1, 2021, develop and implement a plan for expansion of the LEAP program. The plan shall do both of the following:(1) Identify statewide classifications, both entry level and promotional only, which are not currently included in the program, determine those that would offer the greatest potential to increase employment opportunities for persons with disabilities interested in a range of employment opportunities, including clerical, vocational, and professional, and, by
December 31, 2021, designate at least five additional classifications that would address those needs as new LEAP-certified classes pursuant to board rules.
(2) Ensure that all statewide classifications, determined pursuant to paragraph (1) to offer the greatest potential employment opportunities, are designated as LEAP-certified classes by June 30, 2023.
(b) Upon the request of an individual with a disability who has been determined eligible for the LEAP program that the department assess whether that individual meets the minimum requirements for any job classification, the department shall promptly conduct the requested assessment. If the individual is found to meet the minimum qualifications and the classification has been designated as a LEAP-certified class, the department shall place the individual’s name on the referral list for that classification pursuant to Section
19242.2. If the individual meets the minimum qualifications for the classification but the classification has not been designated as a LEAP-certified class, the department shall promptly designate the classification as a LEAP-certified class and establish a referral list for that class and include the individual’s name in that referral list.
(c) The department shall post on its internet website current information concerning LEAP. The department shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following information on that internet website:
(1) A list of LEAP-certified classes.
(2) Information on how to request an assessment of minimum qualifications pursuant to subdivision (b).
(3) Information about a candidate’s option to disclose or keep that
candidate’s LEAP status confidential during the hiring process.
(4) The procedure for disclosing LEAP status if the candidate wishes to do so.
