HRAR-3.04 - Temporary Appointments

Status of Temporary Appointments 

Temporary appointments may be used for meeting emergency, non-recurring, and short-term workloads needs of the City. However, such appointments do not carry “status” in the classification and are outside the civil service process, and shall not be used to defeat the open and competitive procedures established by the Director.

Conditions For Temporary Appointments

Temporary appointments are allowed under certain conditions:

1. In the absence of and pending the preparation of an appropriate eligible register; or
2. In emergencies to prevent delay or injury to the public; or
3. To meet a non-recurring or short-term workload need; and
4. Temporary appointments shall not exceed one (1) year in duration, unless extended by the Director of Human Resources; and

A competitive or limited-competitive process is completed to identify the most qualified candidate for the role.

Layoff List and Temporary Appointments

No temporary appointments shall be made to a position in the classified service while names of available persons are on the layoff list for the class to which the position is allocated, provided the laid off employees are qualified and have expressed an interest in the position. For non-represented employees on the layoff list this restriction on temporary appointments only applies if the position is also in the bureau from which the employee was laid off.

Process For Approval of Temporary Appointments

When filling a budgeted position in the classified service with a temporary appointment which is to exceed thirty (30) days, the appointing authority must file a request with the Director of Human Resources, or designee, prior to appointment.

Electronic personnel actions for temporary appointments must have approval attached and confirmation that a competitive or limited-competitive process was completed. No temporary employee may start work without approval. In order to be eligible for rehire as a temporary employee, a former City employee must have left City employment in good standing, meaning the employee provided notice deemed timely by the Supervisor that they were leaving City employment and did not resign in lieu of discharge or discipline.

An exception to this process may be granted in the form of a memo authorized by the Workforce, Recruitment and Training Team, attached to the electronic personnel action, in the following situations:

1. The position has been identified as a critical need;
2. There is an urgent timeline to fill the position;
3. A recruitment process was attempted or is currently in process (i.e. the position was/is posted and advertised through NEOGOV generating an unqualified applicant pool); and
4. The employee(s) are impacted by layoffs. Layoff approval memos will be generated by the HR Director or designee.

Notice of Temporary Appointment

The appointing authority shall provide written notice to the employee at the time of appointment. The notice shall include conditions of appointment, duration of appointment, and notification that the appointment may end at any time at the discretion of the appointing authority.

Temporary Employees Serve At Will

Full time temporary employees in budgeted or Limited Term positions receive vacation, sick leave and health benefits. Full-time temporary employees are also eligible for holiday pay, providing they were appointed more than two weeks prior to the holiday. New hires into temporary positions must complete the applicable waiting period before becoming eligible to use vacation and sick leave accruals. This provision applies to former City employees rehired into temporary positions as well. See Administrative Rules on Sick Leave and Vacation.

Part time temporary employees are not eligible for vacation, sick leave, health benefits or holiday pay. A temporary appointment to a non-budgeted position is considered a casual/casual other appointment. See Administrative Rule on Types of Appointments. All temporary employees may be eligible for retirement benefits after six months in accordance with the PERS guidelines.

Temporary Appointment of Permanent Employees

If a regular City employee wishes to accept a temporary appointment in another City bureau, they must first get written permission from the Bureau Director in their home bureau to do so. If such permission is granted, the employee will have return rights to their current position in their home bureau at the completion of the temporary assignment. If such permission is not granted, the employee will not have automatic return rights to their home bureau, and will be deemed to have resigned their position in their home bureau.

Bureau Responsibility to Monitor Temporary Term

It is the appointing Bureau's responsibility to ensure that temporary employees do not work more than the one year allowed under this Administrative Rule. After the one year limit is exhausted, the employee must be terminated or proceed through a recruitment process for limited duration or regular appointment. Hiring authorities may not make multiple subsequent temporary appointments to the same position. With showing of good cause and at the discretion of the Director of Human Resources, a temporary appointment may be extended beyond one (1) year.

Credit for Temporary Service Upon Regular Appointment

If an employee in a temporary appointment is subsequently regularly appointed to the classification, credit may be given for all accumulated temporary service in that classification in the previous five (5) years for the purpose of determining salary range and anniversary date. A pay adjustment may be made to the appropriate service step of the pay range for that classification.

Compensation for Temporary Appointments

See Administrative Rule 8.04 on Compensation.

The use of accumulated service credits from several short periods of temporary appointments to a classification shall not be considered in determining salary range until the employee receives a regular appointment.

Director to Report Use of Temporary Employment

Utilizing the employee tracking system, the Bureau of Human Resources will report temporary appointments to budgeted positions to Council each fiscal year.

Interns and Work-Study Students

For purposes of this administrative rule, Interns and Work-Study employees do not have to be preapproved by the Director of Human Resources.