Find contact information for your local Labor Relations Representative
Helpful documents to learn more about your rights
Step-by-step guide to the Grievance Process
A guide to help you through the Probationary Period
Learn more about salary issues
A list of Senators, Assemblymembers, and Government Officials that ACSS Endorses
Support Candidates that protect the best interest of Excluded Employees
Periodic updates on Legislative Bills that ACSS monitors
ACSS meetings held at YOUR Department
Annual Event held in the State Capitol
Upcoming Board Meeting Information and forms
Everything you need to know about ACSS Elections.
The Triennial event for ACSS Elections and Policy Changes
As per CalHR, all state managers and CEA's must complete initial training requirements within 12 months of appointment and all employees in leadership positions must complete 20 hours of ongoing leadership training every two years. in 2016 CalHR made amendments to Government Code 19995.4 which prescribes new leadership development training requirements for state leaders. For employees in leadership classifications appointed before July 1, 2016, the new biennial leadership training requirements muse be completed by July 1, 2018.
The California Leadership Academy offers a Manager Development Program located in Sacramento and in Gardena. This course satisfies the 40 hour training requirement for new managers and is a great opportunity for leaders to satisfy their biennial training requirement. By the end of this class, you will be able to apply critical skills to lead teams, leverage resources, and use best practices to effectively and efficiently operate your program.
CalHR Announcement -
Effective March 7, 2018, CalHR delegates authority to departments to make determinations regarding Excess Lodging Rate Requests up to $250 per night. Previously, departments only had delegation to make determinations regarding Excess Lodging Rate Requests up to $150 per night.
Excess Lodging Rate Requests are required if the requested lodging rate is more than the state rate. CalHR’s Short-Term Lodging Reimbursement Rates page lists the current state rates for all excluded and all represented employees. All Excess Lodging Rate Requests for amounts above the delegated amount of $250 per night will continue to require CalHR approval in advance. Departments should continue to follow their current processes for completing and submitting Excess Lodging Rate Requests to CalHR.
To see this and other recent human resources announcements, please visit the CalHR Announcements web page.
Heads up! ACSS may be coming to YOUR work location. Join us to ask questions about ACSS membership or get information about the issues affecting excluded employees that matter to YOU! Stop by on your break or lunch to meet either your local Membership Coordinator or Labor Relations Representative. Make sure you RSVP to reserve your lunch meal. Hope to see you there!
Upcoming ACSS worksite meetings:
There are more worksite meetings to come soon! Please check back on our ACSS Events Calendar for later dates. Do you want ACSS to come to your work place during the lunch hour? Contact ACSS Headquarters to set up a meeting. Email us at acss@ACSS.org or call (916) 326-4257.
The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) is hosting a two-day CalPERS Benefits Education Event (CBEE) in Visalia to inform members in an 10-county area about programs and benefits available to them. This event will take place at the Visalia Convention Center on Friday, March 2, and Saturday, March 3, 2018. The same program is offered on each day, so attendees can select the day they wish to attend.
Whether new to CalPERS, in mid-career, or close to retirement, CBEEs offer all CalPERS members a wealth of information about their retirement and health benefits, supplemental savings plans, long-term care coverage, and more. Representatives from CalPERS Regional Offices will be on hand to answer questions.
Open both Friday and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., the event features breakout sessions specific to both early through mid-career members, and those nearing retirement. Topics to be covered include CalPERS retirement benefits, CalPERS health benefits, and deferred compensation.
For more information and to register for this event, visit https://www.calpers.ca.gov/page/newsroom/calpers-news/2018/benefits-education-event-visalia.
Effective January 31, 2018, the State Personnel Board approved a plan to consolidate and re-classify a wide range of IT job descriptions as part of the ongoing Civil Service Improvement Project. An estimated 1,694 excluded employees are impacted by this consolidation effort.
Also on January 31, 2018, CalHR released Pay Letter 18-04 which outlines details of the Consolidation plan and how it affects specific job classifications. 36 service-wide classifications consolidated into 9 new classifications as outlined in this SPB Specification sheet. The IT Consolidation Career Path document charts how these new classifications relate to each other and the ranges within each.
If you have individual concerns about how your job is affected by the IT Consolidation plan, please contact your local ACSS Labor Relations Representative.
Updated 2/9/2018
>> Minutes from the January 11, 2018 SPB meeting
>> SPB webpage with other Board Meetings, Agendas and Live Streaming videos
On January 10, 2018, Governor Brown released his proposed 2018-2019 State Budget. The proposal maintains a balanced budget for the foreseeable future under current projections and will also bring the Rainy Day Fund to $13.5 billion, the maximum level allowed under the State Constitution. Revenues for the current budget year are predicted to be $4.7 billion higher than previously estimated. While next fiscal year’s Budget is projected to have a healthy surplus, Brown noted the state will continue to face uncertain times, including the ramifications of the recently enacted federal tax bill and his reiterated warnings to plan for an inevitable recession. The Governor’s budget proposes $131.7 billion in General Fund expenditures, an increase of 4.1 percent over the 2017-2018 budget.
On January 18, 2018, CalHR released Pay Letter 18-03 which outlines Special Salary Adjustments (SSA) for some Managers and Supervisors of the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA), Franchise Tax Board (FTB) and Employment Development Department (EDD). We reported on this issue earlier this month about how ACSS’ efforts helped alleviate salary compaction for some classifications at CDTFA. The SSA for these classifications are effective as of January 1, 2018.
Pay Letter 18-03 also includes Administrator-of-the-Day (AOD) Pay Differential 422 for excluded employees at the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). This Pay Differential affects the following classifications:
ACSS intends to advocate for Pay Differential compensation in a similar approach for excluded classifications at other departments who have AOD responsibilities. We plan on discussing this issue with CalHR in the near future.
CalHR informed ACSS of changes to the 457 Savings Plan and the 401(k) Savings Plan documents for Excluded Employees. Click below to view the updated documents.
Updated 2/8/18
ACSS worked with CalHR to identify changes to the plans. While most amendments are technical and routine in nature, there are some plan improvements. Employees returning to state service can now immediately resume participation in the Savings Plus program. The state has also increased options for spouses and other payees to elect Roth rollover conversions. The amendments include technical updates clarifying the state’s ability to collect overpayments. Of concern, the amendments allow the state to terminate the loan program. ACSS knows the loan program is popular with members, particularly in helping with down payments for homes. ACSS expressed concern over this change and were told that the state has no plans to end the loan program at this time. ACSS will advocate against an end to the loan program should one be proposed.
Members with questions about the Savings Plus program can reach out to the Savings Plus Service Center by e-mail, phone, or visiting the walk-in center in Sacramento. Click here for contact information.
Because of ACSS’ efforts, CalHR has approved the proposed Special Salary Adjustments for excluded employees of the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA). This SSA alleviates salary compaction for impacted classifications at CDTFA and is effective as of January 1, 2018. These are some of the classifications that ACSS identified that CalHR did not adhere to their own criteria to set and maintain a 5% pay differential. Click here to view a copy of the current and proposed salaries for these impacted classifications.
President Frank Ruffino comments on this latest win, “ACSS has been advocating tirelessly on behalf of CDTFA and we have been patiently waiting for results. This is great news for our members and all affected CDTFA excluded employees.”
An official pay letter from CalHR is coming soon and we will share it as soon as it is released.
CalHR first provided ACSS a draft of the plan in Spring 2017. Since then, ACSS has been meeting and dialoguing with CalHR regarding the proposed changes to IT Classifications. Large numbers of IT Excluded Employees responded to ACSS’ request for input; that feedback was beneficial to our discussions with CalHR. Many of the respondents expressed frustration that pay parity in the IT industry with both the public and private sectors was not addressed in the class series proposed by CalHR. ACSS addressed this issue with CalHR. CalHR’s position is that the Civil Service Improvement Project classification consolidations must be cost neutral. Therefore, CalHR stated they will use existing pay ranges. The State Personnel Board does not set excluded employee salaries. The authority to set excluded employee salaries is under the jurisdiction of CalHR.
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