Evening star., 1924-03-18
BILL IS REPORTED
FOREL|M|NAT|ONOF
CLASSIFYING BOARD
House Committee Scores
Group for Disobedience of
Congress Mandate.
WOULD TRANSFER DUTIES
TO CIVIL SERVICE BODY
Lehlbach, in Reporting Measure,
Outlines Work and Disregard
for Lawmakers Wishes.


tion act approved March 4, 1923, and
to transfer its duties to the United
States Civil Service Commission was
ordered today by the unanimous vote
of the House committee on the civil
service.
In his report Chairman LehIbach
says that the committee deemed it
desirable to outline briefly the situa-
tion with respect to recIassification
work which, in their Judgment, makes
necessary the change in the admin
strative agency as provided in the
proposed legislation.
Congress for some time was cog
infant of the fact that the salary and
like duties and responsibilities and
calling for the same qualifications
showed wide variations and marked
Irregularities" Chairman Lehlbach
realized that the salary and wage
rates for positions Of the same class
were different for different depart
ments and independent establish
ments, and that for many classes the
present salaries were inadequate.
''In order to remedy these evils in
the government service, a joint com
mission of Congress was created in
1919 to reclassify the government per-
Sonnel in the District of Columbia
and to provide proper salary ranges
for the various classes of positions
created.
House Effort Failed.
las there existed in the government
service nothing remotely resembling
a classification, the duty imposed
upon the joint commission was to
make a classification rather than a
reclassifcation. The joint commits
sion made a survey of the personnel
in the District and upon the basis OF
the information thus obtained de-
veloped complete classification or
all positions In the District This
classification was submitted with its
report in March, 1920.
The report of the joint commission
was referred to the House civil serv-
ice committee and under it's auspices
condensed and simplifed. without,
however, any material change in sub
stance from the plan of the original
classification.
Congress did not see At to adopt
the joint commission classification or
its modification, made for the COM
mittee without review and revision.
A legislative body is not adapted to
work being administrative in char
acter. A classification agency was
therefore, to be set up to create
classes. define them and furnish ap-
propriate titles.
"As guide for and Limitation
upon the classification agency, a.
skeleton Of classification was pre-
pared. This divided the personnel
in the District into broad services,
such as professional. clerical, GUS
f06ja1 cnt xr-sx6 ~,
each service a series of seven, eight
or nine grades, with range Of sal
ary Tor each grade, and a general
definition of the duties and qualif-
cations applicable in general way
to the classes of positions which
would fall within such grades
Six Rules Provided.
This outline or skeleton or a cIas-
sification was called the compensation
schedule and inserted in the various
bills providing for classification of
the civil service in the District. It
was the manifest purpose of all sucn
bills that classes of positions were
to be created and fitted into the grades
in which they belong and that there
upon the employees were to be al
located to their appropriate classes
within the grades.
1.-The classification act in furtherance
of the classification plan above out
lined defined Service grade and
| class; creates the personnel classifca-
ton board as the classifying agency:
directs it to subdivide the grades into
ella Sses and supply titles and definitions
! for them and to publish a statement con-
tanning the duties and responsibilities
! the several grades, the qualifications re-,
quired for such duties and the titles
given to said classes; 1t thereupon d.
Tects the department heads, after con-
sultation with the board and in ac-
cordance with uniform procedure pre-
! scribed, to allocate all positions to their
appropriate grades in the compensation
schedules and fix the rate of compensa-
the rules prescribed in section of the
section contains six rules pre-
scribing the method of fixing the ex-
act rate of pay within the salary
range of the grades or class thereof
to which an semploye is allocated
that he. is initfally to receive. The
act contains compensation schedules,
, being such an outline or skeleton of
: classification as above described.
No Classification Made.
"In the face of these provisions of
, the law the personnel classification
into classes and furnished no titles
and definitions, published no such
, statement as required by the act for
! the guidance of department heads
in short, made no classification at all.
Instead, 1t directed the department
| heads to allocate all positions to
series of seventeen salary ranges
heretofore prepared by the bureau
of efficiency. The salary ranges were
i called grades. but contained no dednt-
| tions whatever. Under each grade
a few typical jobs were given as ex-
amples and all other positions were
| to be allocated by analogy.
FOR this astounding performance
the board makes the following ex-
cuses: 1t wanted to save time; the
provisions of the law are not man
datory; the classification was not in
1 tended as a basis for salary adjust
ment; it's purpose Is only to facilitate
preparing examinations. for future
/ entrance into the service and for
! statistical purposes: the act does mot
/ provide for subdividing the grades
| into classes, but each class is CO.
terminous with the grade within
| which it falls; 1t was more convenient
| to have the department heads use
/ the bureau of efficiency caary
| ranges; as In most cases these sal
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