3.4.0 Authority

SMC 4.04.040 and subsequent revisions thereto, Administration

SMC 4.04.050 and subsequent revisions thereto, Rule-making authority

SMC 4.20 and subsequent revisions thereto, Compensation and Working Conditions Generally

3.4.1 Definitions

1. "Allocation" shall mean the placement of a position in the appropriate classification within in the classified service.
2. "Appointing authority" shall mean the head of an employing unit, authorized by ordinance or City Charter to employ others on behalf of the City. The term includes and can be used interchangeably with department head, department director, superintendent or chief.
3. "Classification status" shall mean the condition of being probationary, regular or exempt in the current classification or position.
4. "Compensation review" shall mean an evaluation of the pay zone assigned to a title.
5. "Demotion" shall mean the movement of an employee from his or her current classification to a classification with a lower maximum salary rate, for cause.
6. "Exempt employee" shall mean an at will employee who serves at the discretion of the appointing authority in a position that is exempted by State law, the City Charter or SMC 4.13 from compliance with the provisions of the Personnel Rules or SMC Title 4 related to selection, discipline, termination or appeals of personnel actions to the Civil Service Commission.
7. "FLSA" shall mean the Fair Labor Standards Act, which regulates minimum wage and overtime compensation requirements.
8. "Incumbency rate of pay" shall mean the rate of pay an employee receives when his or her position has been the subject of a classification or compensation action that resulted in assignment to a pay zone with a maximum rate of pay which is lower than the rate of pay the employee received immediately before the current classification or compensation action became effective. The incumbency rate of pay is the same as the pay rate the employee received in the higher classification immediately before the action became effective.
9. "Information Technology Professional" shall mean an individual whose position is assigned work associated with the establishment of and enforcement of standards and specifications for network computer systems; or the development of computer systems applications; or the development, installation and maintenance of local area network and mainframe computer systems or server environments; or the development, installation and maintenance of telecommunications systems; or provision of user support for any such systems.
10. "Information Technology Professional Pay Program" shall mean a pay delivery system for individuals in positions allocated to Information Technology Professional A, B, or C or designated as Information Technology Professional A Exempt, B Exempt or C Exempt.
11. "Lateral movement" shall mean the movement of an employee from one position to another position in the same classification or with the same pay zone.
12. "Market adjustment" shall mean an adjustment to the employee’s pay rate that the appointing authority may approve in response to a structure adjustment.
13. "Pay program" shall mean a grouping of job titles that are compensated using the same pay structure and placement and progression rules.
14. "Pay zone" shall mean the span of possible pay rates defined by the minimum rate of pay and the maximum rate of pay established for each Information Technology Professional class or title.
15. "Premium" shall mean a pay adjustment of up to 25% above the maximum pay rate of the pay zone established for Information Technology Professional A that is granted in recognition of technical skills that are in high demand and limited supply.
16. "Personnel Director" shall mean the director of the Personnel Department or his or her designated management representative.
17. "Promotion" shall mean an appointment to a classification or position with a higher maximum pay rate than the classification from which the employee is appointed, that occurs subsequent to an employee’s initial appointment.
18. "Reduction" shall mean the non-disciplinary movement of an employee from a higher-paid classification to a lower-paid classification at the request of the employee to be reduced, or by the appointing authority of his or her designated representative, for reasons of organizational change, reduction in force, poor job match or to accommodate an injured or disabled worker.
19. "Regularly appointed employee" shall mean an individual who has a probationary, regular or exempt appointment to a position of City employment.
20. "Salaried employee" shall mean an employee who is not covered by the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act who regularly receives each pay period a predetermined amount constituting all or part of compensation. This base salary cannot be reduced because of variations in the quality or quantity of work performed.
21. "Structure adjustment" shall mean an adjustment to the salary structure based on a labor market analysis of selected benchmark titles in the Information Technology Professional Pay Program.

3.4.2 Application of this Rule

1. This Rule applies to regularly appointed employees in positions that are compensated under the Information Technology Professional Pay Program.
2. For regularly appointed employees who are represented under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement, this Rule prevails except where it conflicts with the collective bargaining agreement, any memoranda of agreement or understanding signed pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement, or any recognized and established practice relative to the members of the bargaining unit.
3. This Rule does not apply to individuals who are employed under the terms of a grant that includes compensation provisions that conflict with this Rule.
4. This Rule does not apply to individuals hired by the City on a temporary, intermittent or seasonal basis, or for a work schedule of fewer than 20 hours per week, nor does it apply to individuals hired under contract to the City.
5. Appointing authorities may establish written policies and procedures for the implementation and administration of this Rule to facilitate the management of the personnel system within their employing units, provided that such procedures do not conflict with the provisions of this Rule.

3.4.3 Assignment of Pay Zone

1. The Personnel Director shall determine the number and structure of pay zones for the Information Technology Professional Pay Program. This determination will be based on criteria established by the Personnel Director, which may include but need not be limited to recruiting and retention problems, relevant labor markets, internal comparisons, and scope and complexity of assigned work. The City Council must legislate and the Personnel Director shall publish all new titles and compensation rates.
2. The Personnel Director may conduct a compensation review for an Information Technology Professional Pay Program pay zone when the appointing authority or the position incumbent(s) in the pay zone provides evidence of need, or when otherwise deemed necessary by the Personnel Director. The City Council must legislate a change to existing pay zone parameters.
3. The pay zone set by the Personnel Director may not be appealed.

3.4.4 Assignment to Pay Zone

The Personnel Director shall determine the pay zone assignment for all Information Technology Professional positions.

3.4.5 Base Salary Determinations

1. The appointing authority shall recommend base salary rates for employees in Information Technology Professional Pay Program positions. Base salary rates cannot exceed the maximum pay rate of the relevant pay zone. The base salary determination shall be based on consistent application of criteria that address, as appropriate, the growth or reduction of position responsibilities, recruiting or retention issues, market parity, internal alignment, and individual learning curve. Only the relevant criteria need be considered for each position. The appointing authority may evaluate at any time any Information Technology Professional position within his or her employing unit for current or prospective base salary adjustments based on any or all of these criteria. Prior to implementing a base salary recommendation, the appointing authority must obtain the approval of the Personnel Director.
2. The appointing authority may submit a recommendation to the Information Technology Compensation Committee, consisting of the City’s Chief Technology Officer and Personnel Director or their designated representatives and other management representatives, to award to any employee in an Information Technology Professional A position a premium not to exceed 125% of the maximum pay rate of the pay zone. The Personnel Director shall have final authority to approve or deny a premium recommendation.
   1. The premium shall be in recognition of technical skills that are unusually rare in the relevant labor pools and for which the City has a current need.
   2. The premium will be withdrawn when the value to the City of the skill(s) it recognizes diminishes. There is no incumbency rating associated with the withdrawal of the premium.
   3. Application or withdrawal of the premium may affect the position incumbent’s classification status.
3. In the event that the nature, scope and complexity of duties and responsibilities assigned to a position change sufficiently that the position can no longer be compensated within the allocated pay zone, the appointing authority promptly shall request a formal classification review of the position.
4. An employee whose current rate of pay upon first appointment or allocation to Information Technology Professional exceeds the maximum rate of pay established for the pay zone shall receive the incumbency rate of pay, with no increases or adjustments thereto, until the maximum rate of the lower pay zone is equal to or exceeds the incumbency rate of pay or until the employee leaves the classification, whichever is earlier. The incumbency rate shall be maintained only as long as the duties assigned are commensurate with the rate of pay.

3.4.6 Effect of Classification or Compensation Change

1. The appointing authority may set base pay within the new pay zone for an Information Technology Professional who promotes, reduces, accepts a lateral movement, or is demoted to a position in a different Information Technology Professional pay zone, as provided by Rule 3.4.5 (A).
2. An Information Technology Professional who promotes, reduces, accepts a lateral movement or is demoted to a position outside the Information Technology Professional Pay Program, or whose position is reclassified or reallocated to a classification or title outside the Information Technology Professional Pay Program, shall have his or her salary placement and wage progression governed by the rules of the relevant compensation program.
3. There is no retroactivity associated with an employee’s change in FLSA status from hourly to salaried as a result of a classification or compensation change. No salary adjustment is owed the employee on any overtime compensation he or she was paid during the period of retroactivity. However, if an employee’s FLSA status changes from salaried to hourly as a result of a classification or compensation change, payment is owed for any overtime worked but not compensated during the period of retroactivity.
4. The Personnel Director shall conduct a labor market analysis of selected Information Technology Professional Pay Program benchmark positions as needed, but no less frequently than once every two years. On the basis of this analysis, the Personnel Director annually shall recommend to City Council for approval an adjustment to each of the Information Technology Professional pay zones. Position incumbents will receive an adjustment to base salary unless their base salaries exceed the maximum of the pay zone to which their position is allocated or assigned, except that no Information Technology Professional may receive a base salary increase as a result of this structure adjustment unless h is or her performance in the most recent evaluation cycle is "satisfactory" or better.