This morning the TEAM Act, the bill that reforms the state’s civil service system, was signed into law by Governor Bill Haslam. Through a bipartisan effort in the legislature and through productive negotiations with the Governor’s administration, TSEA was able to help transform the original bill into a much better piece of legislation.
“State employees and their families can rest easier knowing important job protections that exist under the current civil service system are still in place in the new law”, said TSEA President Phil Morson.
As we look toward the future, TSEA shares the Governor’s interest in a better, more efficiently run state government. We are interested in solutions that are fair and effective, solutions that provide state employees with the best opportunities to succeed. An effective state employment system ensures that hard-working state employees can keep their jobs as well as have opportunities to earn better pay for a job well done. An effectively designed performance evaluation system objectively measures every state employee’s performance equally and creates an environment where all have an equal opportunity to succeed. TSEA will continue to work with the administration to ensure the TEAM Act is implemented properly and remains both fair and effective.
TEAM Act implementation timeline:
- April 24th 2012 – TEAM Act signed in to law by Governor Haslam
- July 1, 2012 – TEAM Act goes into law for purposes of developing and promulgating rules
- October 1, 2012 – TEAM Act goes into full effect.
- July 1, 2013 – First day new Performance Evaluation system/scores can be used to address layoffs or merit pay.
- January 1, 2014 – layoff notice period shifts from 60 days (beginning in October 2012) to 30 days.
Present rules regarding RIF’s, including the 90 day notice period, remain in effect until October 1, 2012. The notice period then changes to 60 days until January 1, 2014, at which point it will shift to 30 days.