Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-06
.LEHLbACH REPORTS
NEW PAY MEASURE.
Defends Classification Board
Position in Explaining
Proposal to House.
CONTINUED From First Page.l

schedules carried in the bill will ap-
proximate $2,876,000.
| The report goes into the passage of
| the classification act of 1923 and the
| creation of the Personnel Board, and
| continues:
Section of the classification act
| vests in the board the power and duty
| to make rules and regulations not in
| consistent with the provisions of the
act: to establish classes of positions
within the grades. prepare statements
giving the duties. responsibilities, quail
| fications and titles of such classes with
in the scope Of the grades. The board
may change these classes at will.
This function to serve specific classes
out of the general spread of a grade
and not coincident with such spread
necessarily includes the designation of
the spread of rates of salary applicable
to each of such classes, within the
spread of rates of the grade at large.
The power to erect such spread of rates
within the range of the spread Of a
grade Is incontrovertible in the light of
other provisions of the act. The rules
for fixing compensation provide If the
enploye is receiving compensation less
than the minimum rate of the grade or
class thereof in which his duties fall,
the compensation shall be increased to
that minimum rate"
Accordingly, if position previously
at the second rate of pay in the spread
of the grade falls in a class created by
the Personnel Classification Board with
a spread comprising rates 3, 4 and 5
of the grade, the incumbent thereof
automatically moves to rate 3 of the
grade. Rule 6 Is All new appointments
shall be made at the minimum rate of
and appropriate grade or class thereof
Thus the entrant would not receive the
pay of the minimum rate of the grade,
but the minimum of the class within
the grade. If fixing the spread of pay
for the classes. the board is directed
to create is not an incident of that
function, no one else is empowered to
Go it and the rules in section 6 become
sheer nonsense. No official is justified
by tortured construction of an act
of Congress to nullify its plain intent
and hence your committee deem it I'M
necessary and undignified to recommend
a re-enactment of this legislation. The
fact that the Personnel Classification
Board has heretofore failed to create
such classes within the grade is
obviously not germane to the merits
of the provision.
Text of Bill Quoted.
"It is contended that the following
language III the first paragraph of
section / of the bill creates new powers
in the Personnel Classification Board:
That the Personnel Classification
Board shall have sole jurisdiction to
determine finally the grade, or sub
division thereof, to which all positions
which are subject to the compensation
schedule of the classification act of
1923, and amendments thereto, shall be
allocated' Section of the classical
ton act provides the manner in which
its provisions shall initially be applied
to the positions within it's scope.
It directs that after consultation with
the Classification Board and in accord
ance with a uniform procedure pre-
scribed by it, the heads of departments
shall allocate all positions in his de-
partment in the District of Columbia
to their appropriate grades in the COM
pensation schedules and shall fix the
rate of compensation of each employe
Hereunder, in accordance with the rules
prescribed in section herein. Thus
the heads Of departments functioned
under the instructions and according