Working Out of Class

Section 1. When Employees May be Worked out of Class.

a. No classified employee may be worked out of their normal classification except in conformity with this Rule. Employees may be worked out of class for such limited periods of time, not to exceed one year.

b. Employees may be worked out of classification for any of the following reasons or purposes: (1) to work in a position because it is vacant or because the incumbent is on leave or for which a department has a temporary need, (2) for developmental assignment, or (3) because of a catastrophic event.

c. With the agreement of the employee, a Department Head may work the employee out of class for developmental assignments. In order to be considered for developmental assignment, an employee must have received an overall rating of “exceeds standards” on their last two scheduled performance evaluation reports and may not have been previously granted the same developmental assignment. (Amended 7/31/07)

d. Employees may be worked out of class by the City Manager during the course of a catastrophic event or a period of recovery following the occurrence of such an event. In these circumstances, employees required to work out of class shall not be eligible to receive additional compensation or credit as would otherwise be extended under this Rule.

Section 2. Approval Process by Department Head.

When it is expected or anticipated or when a significant potential exists that an employee will work out of class for 15 or more consecutive days and for all developmental assignments, a Department Head must complete the appropriate form to work an employee out of classification, stating the reasons therefore, the date the necessity arose or is reasonably anticipated to arise, the likely duration of the necessity, and the difference in compensation, if any, between the employee’s current classification and that to which the new assignment relates. In cases arising out of developmental assignments, only the duration of the length of the assignment need be set forth, together with evidence of the employee’s consent. The form shall be submitted to the Office of the City Manager for the approval of the City Manager or designee.

Section 3. Compensation and Credit.

Except as otherwise provided in this Rule, an employee will be credited for each day of out-of-classification work for the purpose of calculating experience toward the minimum qualifications for a promotional examination related to the position. At the end of each calendar month, any employee who does not have a pending or approved working out of class application and who has performed one or more days of out-of-classification work during that month shall, before the 10th day of the following month, fill out a request to receive credit for such work and submit the request to their Department Head. If the Department Head fails to act upon the request within 5 working days, the credit shall be automatically granted. If the Department Head denies the request, the employee shall be informed, and may appeal as provided in Section 5 of this Rule. No more than 30 total days of credit for out-of-classification work may be granted on an annual basis based on the calendar year to an employee pursuant to this self-reporting system. An employee who is assigned to work out of class for 15 or more consecutive days shall receive compensation retroactively, at the minimum salary for the out of class position, provided further, that in no event shall the adjustment in pay be less than five percent (5%) higher than the employee’s regular rate of pay. This additional compensation shall not affect the employee’s eligibility for increases in accordance with normal pay practices, nor shall the additional compensation herein provided extend beyond the period for which the employee works out of class. (Amended 7/31/07)

Section 4. Supervisory Duties.

Provided that there is no employee within the same department eligible for promotion or temporary promotion under the provisions of Rule 11, Sec. 10, an employee may be assigned temporary supervisory duties pursuant to a developmental assignment as provided in Sec. 1 of this Rule, otherwise, an employee may not be required to perform supervisory duties not contained within the job description he was working before being worked out of class.

Section 5. Appeals.

An employee may appeal to the City Manager any perceived violation of this Rule within 10-days after the employee knew or should have known of the purported violation. If the matter remains unresolved to the employee’s satisfaction, the employee may appeal to the Commission not later than 5 days after the denial of the City Manager, or 25 calendar days after the initial appeal, whichever is later.

Section 6. Applicability.

This Rule becomes effective upon its adoption. Thereupon, a 60-calendar day grace period will exist to allow employees or Department Heads to submit retroactive requests for credit for work performed out of class during the preceding twenty-four months. Requests must be approved or denied by the Department Head not later than the 90th day after the effective date of this Rule.

Section 7. Definitions.

As used herein, the following terms, in their various configurations, are defined. All terms not defined shall have their ordinary meaning.

(1) Working Out of Class- The temporary assignment of an employee to daily perform duties of a significant and distinct nature allocated to a higher graded job class other than work performed in response to a catastrophic event or as defined in Section 2.2c of the Classification and Compensation Ordinance 8064.

(2) Days- Unless the context requires otherwise, days that an employee actually works.

(3) Department Head- The department director or appointing authority.

(4) Catastrophic Event- The occurrence of a sudden emergency or other incident

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