Previously, job classifications and salary range rates were itemized in legislation, and could only be changed every two years, when the legislature was in session. Even those organizations that maintain a separate personnel system realize the benefits of a consistent application of personnel policies and practices, and tend to follow and incorporate many provisions of the Personnel Code. The Director of Central Management Services is responsible for setting forth a uniform set of rules that guide the process of personnel administration. The Personnel Rules, together with the Classification Plan, Pay Plan and body of Classification Standards, make up the administrative rules and these have the force and effect of law, subject to the interpretation of the Director and review by the Civil Service Commission. These are formal documents that describe in a useful way the types and levels of jobs within the entire Classification Plan.
Specifications have the force and effect of law.
They are representative and not restrictive in defining a class of positions. Classes are ordinarily defined as broadly applying to occupational groupings, which subsume a variety of different types of positions within the occupation for which the standard is written. Levels of work within an occupation are defined as a series of class specifications. A written specification must be maintained for each class in the Classification Plan, and only the official class title or its designated code number may be used on personnel records to reflect the position classification. The Distinguishing Features of Work uniquely defines the class of positions apart from all others in the plan.