STATE OF LOUISIANA

DEPARTMENT OF STATE CIVIL SERVICE

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA

General Circular No. 001462

To: Heads of State Agencies and Human Resource Directors

Subject: Revised Criteria For Rule 6.16(a) as it Applies to the Attainment of Education
             and Training Credentials Only

Issue Date: December 11, 2001

This is to advise the Human Resource community of the revised criteria for rule 6.16 (a) (Premium Pay) for the attainment of educational/training credentials only.

Some general points are as follows:

1. Applications of premium pay are optional with appointing authorities.  No agency is required to make these requests.  No request will be effective until it is approved by the Commission.

2. Agencies may choose to reward employees for education/credentials in their Rewards and Recognition policy (Rule 6.16.1) instead of using rule 6.5(a).

3. Monetary awards cited are the maximum (not to exceed) amounts currently recommended by the Civil Service staff to the Commission. Individually awarded amounts may be less than these maximums.  Maximum amounts are subject to review periodically and may change in the future.

4. Premium pay requests may be made for past, as well as future attainment of education/training credentials.

5. Awards for education and training credentials should be handled as premium pay and thus not be included in the base salary. Premium pay should be given as a one-time, lump sum payment.

6. When requesting premium pay for education and training credentials please submit a copy of the certificate, the number of training hours required and completed, name of employee, employee’s job title, as well as the testing requirements.

7. Completion of post-secondary higher education is not included in the reward structure, e.g., college hours and/or degrees and courses at secretarial or technical colleges (formerly called vocational-technical schools).

8. If the employee has already been compensated for attainment of credentials/education by another pay rule, an agency cannot also use rule 6.5(a).

ATTAINMENT OF EDUCATION/TRAINING CREDENTIALS

Lump sum award amounts are as follows:

a) An agency may award an employee up to $500 for attainment of the following Comprehensive Public Training Program (CPTP) certificates:
1. Certified Public Manager
2. Certificate of Supervisory Training
3. Certificate for Building Effective Teams
4. Certificate for Managing People
5. Certificate for Managing Work
6. Certificate for Advanced Managerial Skills
7. Teaching and Learning Certificate

b) An agency may award an amount not to exceed $250 for training that meets the following conditions:
--- The training is recognized nationally and testing is required.
--- There must be a minimum of 40 hours of class work and/or course work.
--- It must be directly related to the employee's job.
--- It is not required agency training.
--- The training cannot be part of the minimum qualification requirements for the job.

c) An agency may award an amount not to exceed $1,000 for attainment of a certification that meets all criteria listed in (b) above, if it is nationally recognized and is earned after the attainment of a baccalaureate degree. This award requires a substantial amount of study and a comprehensive exam. Examples include a CPA or similar credential with the status of a CPA.  This type of award may be given only once to an employee.

If you have any questions please call Marianne Pisanie or Lisa Lusk in the Compensation Division at 225-342-8083.


Sincerely,



Allen H. Reynolds
Director