development in assignment definition

Washington State Department of Enterprise Services (DES)

Capitol Campus

EAP | Capitol Campus

Developmental Job Assignment

The state of Washington strives to attract, develop, and retain a talented and well-prepared workforce.

Providing employees opportunities to explore career interests through assignments that are uncommon in their daily work:

Allow them to grow professionally.
Allow the agency to pursue initiatives using resources that would not otherwise be available.

A developmental job assignment is a formal opportunity for an employee to develop professional knowledge, skills, and abilities that would not otherwise be available through their normal work activities.

Developmental job assignments should be primarily a product of the employee’s Performance and Development Plan (PDP). However, employees or the agency may pursue those assignments outside of this process.

Developmental job assignments are voluntary. Developmental job assignments will normally last no more than twelve months, and must have prior approval of the current Agency Head. Employees must have a six-month break between developmental job assignments. The time length and extensions of all assignments must include written justification.

Employees in developmental job assignments retain their own position number, draw their current salaries (including any scheduled periodic increments) and do not attain permanent status in any other classifications.

Funding is normally absorbed by the loaning (permanent) program unless prior arrangements are made to pay by the program with the developmental assignment. This includes travel and training. Developmental job assignments may be terminated by any of the parties with at least seven calendar days’ notice, unless a shorter notice period is mutually agreed upon.

Take Action

The scope of the developmental job assignment should be clearly documented and approved by the supervising and hiring managers, the agency head and HR, before advertising the assignment.
Learning goals should be established and documented before the employee begins the assignment.
Developmental job assignments may be part-time or full-time.
Employees are not expected to have all skills necessary to perform the tasks or project independently, but should have the aptitude, ability, and ambition to complete assignments with reasonable oversight.
Since the primary purpose of a development job assignment is to support employee growth, assignments should be beyond current skill level. For example, a Fiscal Analysis with 10 years of experience in accounting would probably not be the best choice for a development assignment in entry level accounting. The assignment would not expand the employee’s skill set and would deprive a less experienced employee of the learning opportunity.
The salary of an employee who accepts a developmental job assignment remains the same.
There are no guarantees of future pay increase, promotion, or permanent job change.
The developmental job assignment should not evolve into a permanent position without competitive recruitment.
Employees are expected to go back to their previous position.
Employees may not accept another developmental job assignment for at least six months after completing an assignment.
At the end of the developmental job assignment, the supervisor and employee should complete a detailed evaluation of the learning experience, and place this documentation in the personnel file.
Developmental job assignments are not transfers, and the employee is expected to return to their previous job. Therefore, the employee’s salary is typically paid by their home program. However, funding sources may be alternatively arranged through prior mutual agreement between programs.
Developmental job assignments may be ended at any time by the employee or hiring manager (with approval by the appointing authority) with seven (7) days’ notice. Reasons to end a developmental job assignment early may include, but are not limited to: unexpected end of project; poor attendance or the unreliability of an employee; performance issues, etc.

Training and Development

(Revised: 10/2021)

Training and Development (T&D) assignments are temporary assignments to provide an employee with training and experience to move to a different occupational field. A T&D assignment is a formal agreement between the employee, the current supervisor, and the new supervisor. The duration of agreements can vary in length but shall not exceed twenty-four (24) months. The duration may also be the length of experience needed to meet the minimum qualifications.

No T&D assignment may be extended beyond twenty-four (24) months, with the exception of T&D assignments for employees in a less than full-time time base position, who may continue their T&D until they reach the equivalence of twenty-four (24) months.

Government Code Sections 19050.8 and 19400-19401 , California Code of Regulations (CCR), State Personnel Board (SPB) and California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) provide laws, rules, regulations and policy that govern, authorize, and define T&D assignments.

It is the policy of the Department of General Services (DGS) to utilize T&D assignments in order to facilitate an employee’s entry into new occupational fields, help prepare employees for a future promotion, and provide a process for the movement of lower-paying positions into technical, professional, and administrative level positions by providing an opportunity to meet the minimum experience qualifications.

The following standards and guidelines are embodied in the laws and regulations governing T&D assignments.

T&D Assignment Eligibility

Eligibility for T&D assignments require the employee be a state employee, and have permanent status in their current classification, with no break in service due to a permanent separation since that permanent status. The employee may, but is not required to, satisfy the minimum qualifications of the T&D classification. The employee shall possess any licensure, certificate, or similar credential that is a component of the minimum qualifications.

An employee may apply and be selected for a T&D assignment without the agreement of their current appointing power. The receiving appointing power must notify the loaning appointing power of the nature and length of the T&D assignment. The loaning appointing power may hold the employee no more than fourteen (14) calendar days after the date of the written notice. Pursuant to CCR, Title 2, Section 438.5, Termination and Corrective Action by Executive Officer, any participating agency or employee may terminate a temporary assignment or loan at any time for any reason.

Selection Process for T&D Assignments

Pursuant to California Code of Regulations (CCR) Title 2, Section 439.3 (a), CCR Title 2, Section 249.1, and CCR Title 2, Section 439 (b), the selection process for a T&D involves the use of job-related criteria and any other selection instrument or procedure designed to objectively and fairly, evaluate and compare the candidates.

T&D Classification

T&D assignments may be made to any of the following:

The same classification as the employee’s current classification, but a different position.
A different classification with substantially the same salary range as the employee’s “from” classification.
A different classification with a promotional salary range provided that:
The higher salaried class is the class in the employee’s desired occupational area that will provide the appropriate training experience.
There is not another class nearer in salary to the employee’s current class that will provide the appropriate training experience. If such a class exists, that class shall be used for purposes of the T&D assignment.
The higher salaried class is not in the same class series as the employee’s current class, unless the T&D assignment involves an apprenticeship program approved by the Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Apprenticeship Standards.
A different classification with a demotional salary range provided that the assignment to the lower class is not used where other action, such as voluntary demotion, medical demotion, corrective action, or disciplinary action, is relevant to the employee’s situation.

Note: While on a T&D assignment the employee remains in the civil service classification they were in prior to accepting the T&D.

Procedure

T&D Initiation

The following chart outlines the procedure to initiate a T&D Assignment:

Completion of a T&D Assignment

After completion of a T&D assignment, the employee will satisfy the minimum qualifications of the target classification and may be appointed to the target classification after taking the exam. It is crucial to note that the employee should not take the exam prior to meeting the minimum qualifications.

In accordance with CCR, Title 2, Section 439.4, after completion of a T&D assignment, the employee shall have the absolute right to return to their former position. However, an employee who successfully completes a T&D assignment in a different position, regardless of whether the classification is the same or different, or whether the appointing power is the same or different, may be appointed to the same position in which they served the T&D assignment, provided that all of the following apply:

The appointment is by way of transfer, list appointment, or demotion.
The employee satisfies the minimum qualifications of the classification.
The employee competed for the assignment pursuant to CCR, Title 2, Section 439.3 and the assignment was advertised pursuant to CCR, Title 2, Sections 249.1, 249.1.1, and 249.2, unless otherwise exempted.

After an employee is appointed, they will serve the applicable probation period, unless the employee has already served in the same class under the same appointing power.

The following chart outlines the procedure to transition an employee to permanent at the successful conclusion of a T&D assignment:

Apprenticeship Programs

A T&D assignment is utilized when an employee is selected to participate in one of the Apprenticeship Programs at DGS. At the conclusion of a T&D assignment for an Apprenticeship Program. the employee performing the assignment shall be mandatorily reinstated to their previous position, rather than being appointed to the target classification in the position they served the T&D in. Since the candidate will be returning to their previous position number at the end of the Apprenticeship Program, the previous unit/division shall fill behind the employee as limited term. The program can begin the recruitment process for the position that the apprenticeship T&D position is tied to approximately sixty (60) days before the conclusion of the apprenticeship T&D assignment. Please note, the candidate selected to fill the vacancy left by the apprenticeship T&D assignment ending cannot be appointed to the position until the day following the end date of the T&D assignment. The T&D Assignment Agreement that was provided to program and the employee will specify the end date of the T&D assignment. The Personnel Officer will notify the employee that the T&D assignment will be ending and the date the employee will return to their previous position.

The following chart outlines the procedure to mandatorily reinstate an employee to their previous position after a T&D assignment: