EIU Department of Classification and Compensation

Position Audit Procedures

Procedures

The employer shall develop auditing procedures which will ensure consistency within the classification program. When you feel you are performing tasks associated with a higher job classification, a desk audit may be initiated to analyze whether or not the position should be reclassified to a higher level. To request a desk audit, the new duties must be permanent in nature and the employee must not be in a probationary status and must have been performing the new duties for a minimum of 6 months, which must be verified by the employee’s supervisor or respective Vice President.

Review

An auditor will review the job description and analyze your tasks, duties, and responsibilities. If the audit determines that you are performing at a higher job level, the position may be reclassified at the higher level. If it is determined that the employee has not been performing the new duties for a minimum of 6 months, the audit will be cancelled.

Submit

A new position description must be submitted once the 6 month period has been satisfied in the event the audit was cancelled due to not meeting the 6 month minimum work requirement.

As a general rule, the classification of a position is based on those duties and responsibilities occupying the majority of the position's work time.

Procedures for a Position Audit

Civil Service Position Description Word (doc)  (Rich Text)

Request for Audit of Civil Service Description

Official Civil Service Rule

a. Overview

In order to maintain a sound classification program, Employers shall carry on continuous classification studies.

The Employer shall establish a schedule for position audits so that positions in which duties and responsibilities might be subject to change can be reviewed on a regular basis.

Such schedule shall provide for the audit of at least one-third of such positions annually.

Each Employer shall develop auditing procedures which will ensure consistency within the classification program at their place of employment, as well as with the Classification Plan in general.

b. Position Audits

When official on-going duties and responsibilities fall partly in one class and partly in another, it is necessary to evaluate the overall function of the position as well as the duties which are essential to it. As a general rule, the classification of a position should be based on those duties and responsibilities occupying the majority of the position's work time. A request to audit an existing position may originate at any time by an employee, an employing unit, a DER, or the System Office.

The following guidelines shall be applied when determining whether a position should be reclassified, reallocated, or canceled:

• • Duties of a position should not be revised when the change would result in a radical shift in position function; e.g., Clerk to Building Service Worker; Medical Technologist to Nurse. In such cases, a new position should be established, and applicants compete for the vacancy by examination.
    

  • Duties of a position should not be revised sufficiently to warrant reclassification or reallocation upward, when work of the class is, by tradition, sufficiently prescribed so as to preclude an incumbent from performing duties not belonging to the class; e.g., food service, building service, or craft and trade classes. In such cases, a new position should be established, and applicants compete for the vacancy by examination.
    

  • Duties may be revised sufficiently to warrant reclassification or reallocation when the job content of the position is flexible and may be impacted by the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the incumbent such as is typical of many professional, technical, and clerical positions.
    

c. Implementation Guidelines

As a general standard, incumbents should normally be notified of classification decisions by the Employer within 30 days after receipt of the completed, properly authenticated, job description from the incumbent or department.

Delays in the position audit process may be considered justifiable under special circumstances, including holiday closures, academic breaks, and layoffs that temporarily freeze reclassification and reallocation activity.

The Employer may establish policies to retroactively apply the resulting personnel action to some date within the 30 days after receipt of a fully documented position audit request. In instances where the 30-day timeframe has been extended without adequate justification, such policies demonstrate the intent to effectively manage the classification program and serve as an acceptable alternative to the 30-day audit timeframe guideline.

In all instances, the Employer should conduct the position audit within a reasonable timeframe.

Personnel actions based on determinations made through the position audit process can only be applied when the incumbent has been shown to meet the minimum qualifications of the new position and/or otherwise qualifies by successfully completing the appropriate examination.

Reference Civil Service Rule 250.30