STATE OF LOUISIANA
DEPARTMENT OF STATE CIVIL SERVICE
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
General Circular No. 001509
To: Heads of State Agencies and Human Resource Directors
Subject: Reduced HR Documentation Requirements
Issue Date: October 30, 2002
Effective immediately, the Department of State Civil Service is revising the documentation requirements related to personnel transactions as follows.
Agencies are no longer required to check the OPEN system to be sure an appointee has not been barred from state service. The Department of State Civil Service will review all actions monthly to ensure that barred individuals have not been appointed to state service. If a barred individual is found to have been hired, the hiring agency will be directed to separate the individual. Note: This cancels and supercedes General Circular 1405.
The checking of an appointee’s prior employment record is no longer mandatory. Note: This cancels and supercedes General Circular 1405.
However, we strongly recommend that agencies verify an appointee’s prior employment claims. Routinely checking references is a Best Practice that can reduce turnover, dismissals for cause and risk of negligent hire liability.
When an agency is appointing someone based on re-employment eligibility or is basing pay on a former rate earned, the agency must continue to document that the employee’s state employment record has been verified to assure that such action is being taken correctly.
Any agency that reports personnel transactions through direct entry into ISISHR or through an approved interface system (PeopleSoft, LSU-system, etc.) is no longer required to send copies of applications of probational appointees or appointment alert sheets to the Department of State Civil Service. Copies of applications of employees appointed from a preferred list are also no longer required. However, all agencies must continue to maintain a copy of the application and relevant supporting documents (transcripts, licenses, etc.) in the employee’s personnel file. These documents must be made available to the Department of Civil Service upon request.
Paper Agency requirements are unchanged. These agencies must continue to submit applications along with their Paper Agency Form for Hires & Changes to Civil Service.
4. Mandatory File Copies of Employee Notification Forms no longer required
Retention of a file copy of each Employee Notification Form issued to an employee is no longer mandatory for ISIS HR Direct-Entry or Interface agencies. This does NOT alter the requirement to provide employees with notification of any changes to their employment status. Nor does it diminish each agency’s responsibility to maintain adequate internal controls to ensure correct execution of personnel transactions and to maintain an adequate record of the employee’s employment history. Agencies that are using these forms for multiple purposes, such as documentation of appointing authority approval or verification of action execution, etc. will wish to continue to retain them in the personnel files.
Note: Documentation requirements for Paper Agencies remain unchanged.
The Documentation Requirements in the on-line HR Handbook will be updated to reflect these changes shortly. Human Resource Directors will be notified when that update has been completed.
If you have any questions about these changes, please contact Jean Tozer, Staffing Administrator at 225-342-8536 or jtozer@dscs.state.la.us.
Sincerely,
Allen H. Reynolds
Director