Miles and miles of difference between ‘reassignment’ and ‘transfer’ Do you work where you work, or where they have your payroll records? It might seem like a subtle point, but it could make a difference of hundreds of miles in where you have to work in the future. That’s why PEF has gone to state Supreme Court in Erie County to challenge what the state calls the “reassignment” of a pharmacist at Buffalo Psychiatric Center. The PEF member has been ordered to work certain days at Western New York Children’s Psychiatric Center, a separate appointing authority, because of short staffing at that facility. “We believe that, under the state Civil Service Law, this employee has been transferred,” says PEF General Counsel William Seamon. And the law says the state can’t transfer an employee to a different appointing authority unless the employee agrees to the transfer. This pharmacist did not consent. Buffalo Psychiatric Center argues that because it has kept the pharmacist on its payroll, this is not a transfer but simply a reassignment, which does not require consent. “An important principle is at stake,” Seamon says. “This reassignment is a subterfuge. And if the court lets the state get away with it, that could open the door for the state Office of Mental Health to involuntarily transfer other PEF members among its many facilities throughout the state. Taken to the extreme, someone working on Long Island could be ‘reassigned’ to Elmira or Rochester, whether they like it or not.” PEF hopes to receive a decision in the case this summer. — Sherry Halbrook Merit, fitness issue PEF challenges zone scoring in state court PEF has sued the state over its use of zone scoring to rank candidates on civil service eligible lists. Specifically, PEF is challenging the use of zone scoring on the civil service exam for the titles of health program administrator 1 and 2. “We chose this exam as a test case because of the large number of candidates (74) who received a score of 100,” says PEF General Counsel William Seamon. “We felt this would highlight for the court our argument that zone scoring gives the state too much discretion in appointing candidates.” Large pools of equally ranked candidates can be created when zoned or banded scores are used, instead of raw scores, to rank candidates. Under zone scoring, individuals who receive significantly different raw scores can receive the same or similar zone scores. For example, PEF contends that the method used for scoring the health program administrator exam would result in candidates who have a raw score difference of up to 41 points being ranked within five points of one another, or one zone. PEF is challenging this method of scoring because “we want to ensure that appointments and promotions are made based on the merit and fitness of candidates, which is determined through competitive exams, and not based on the unfettered discretion of the appointing authority,” Seamon says. — Sherry Halbrook Union: Time’s up on provisional appointments When the state fails to give competitive civil service exams for state positions, it opens the door to patronage, favoritism and other abuses in the hiring and promoting of state employees. This situation shortchanges taxpayers and cheats qualified candidates of the opportunity to compete fairly for better jobs. That’s why PEF recently asked the state Supreme Court to order the state Civil Service Department to schedule and conduct exams for positions in two titles at the state Office of Children and Family Services. Some of the people in those positions were appointed provisionally years ago, pending the results of competitive exams that never came. State Civil Service Law limits provisional appointments to a maximum of nine months and requires that competitive examinations be conducted within that time to allow permanent appointments to be made fairly. The PEF Office of General Counsel reports this case has just been resolved by a negotiated settlement that will result in scheduling the examinations. — Sherry Halbrook OMH licensed psychologists get pay equity By SHERRY HALBROOK For more than a decade, licensed psychologists have been paid better if they work for the state Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, than if they work for the state Office of Mental Health. That inequity has finally ended thanks to the concerted efforts of both PEF and OMH. The remedy comes in the form of a salary-grade reclassification that benefits 230 licensed psychologists at OMH. Effective April 1, they are upgraded from grade 23 to 25. “OMH psychologists are finally receiving long overdue recognition for their licensure and their contribution to New York state and the mental-health community,” says PEF President Roger Benson. “This reclassification is a triumph of fairness and it exemplifies what can be accomplished when we all work in concert toward a common goal. “OMH Commissioner James Stone and his staff should be applauded for pursuing the establishment of the licensed psychologist positions at the agency and ensuring that the reclassification takes effect on a date that is beneficial to the majority of the psychologists,” Benson says. This successful effort also shows the power of member mobilization and the importance of maintaining and expanding our member power base.” PEF member Allan Smith, an associate psychologist at Pilgrim Psychiatric Center on Long Island, is among those receiving the upgrade. “It was a long, tough battle. And it couldn’t have been won without the hard work of PEF in originating, orchestrating and encouraging the commissioner’s office and the membership,” Smith says. “This was truly a job well done.” PEF began working for the upgrades in the spring of 1998 by surveying its members in psychology titles at OMH. The survey results led PEF to encourage the psychologists to submit forms seeking an upgrade from Civil Service. Then, the union mobilized the psychologists, and their PEF Executive-Board members and council leaders to focus attention on the inequity. Members wrote directly to Stone, to facility directors and to their legislative representatives explaining the situation and the important role that licensed psychologists play in OMH. The members also pressed for a reclassification effective date that would produce the maximum benefit to the greatest number of the psychologists. “I applaud our leaders for their efforts on this issue,” Benson says. The Communicator Home Page