(a)It is the purpose of this article to establish in the state a system of personnel administration which will attract, select, and retain the best employees based on merit, free from coercive political influences, with incentives in the form of equal opportunities for all; which will provide technically competent and loyal personnel to render impartial service to the public at all times and to render such service according to the dictates of ethics and morality; and which will remove unnecessary and inefficient employees. It is specifically the intent of the General Assembly to promote this purpose by allowing agencies greater flexibility in personnel management so as to promote the overall effectiveness and efficiency of state government. To this end, and in accordance with Code Section
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(a) It is the purpose of this article to establish in the state a system of personnel administration which will attract, select, and retain the best employees based on merit, free from coercive political influences, with incentives in the form of equal opportunities for all; which will provide technically competent and loyal personnel to render impartial service to the public at all times and to render such service according to the dictates of ethics and morality; and which will remove unnecessary and inefficient employees. It is specifically the intent of the General Assembly to promote this purpose by allowing agencies greater flexibility in personnel management so as to promote the overall effectiveness and efficiency of state government. To this end, and in accordance with Code Sections 45-20-2 and 45-20-6 , all positions filled after July 1, 1996, shall be included in the unclassified service as defined in this article, except as provided in Code Section 15-11-69 . It is also specifically the intent of the General Assembly that employees in the classified service prior to July 1, 1996, shall continue to be employees in the classified service so long as they remain in classified positions or as otherwise provided by law. It is further specifically the intent of the General Assembly that state government operate within a framework of consistent core personnel policies and practices across all state agencies and entities and that the state's most valued resource, its employees, be managed in a manner to promote work force productivity and sound business practices. (b) In order to achieve these purposes, it is the policy of the state that agencies treat all employees in accordance with the following principles: (1) Assuring fair treatment of applicants and employees in all aspects of personnel administration without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, religious creed, or political affiliations. This "fair treatment" principle includes compliance with all state and federal equal employment opportunity and nondiscrimination laws; (2) Recruiting, selecting, and advancing employees on the basis of their relative ability, knowledge, and skills, including open consideration of qualified applicants for initial employment; (3) Providing equitable and adequate compensation based on merit, performance, job value, and competitiveness within applicable labor markets; (4) Training employees, as needed, to assure high quality performance and to provide work force skills needed to maintain and advance the state's goals and objectives; (5) Retaining employees on the basis of the adequacy of their performance, correcting inadequate performance where possible and appropriate, and separating employees whose performance is inadequate; and (6) Assuring that employees are protected against coercion for partisan political purposes and are prohibited from using their official authority for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election or nomination for office. (c) It shall be the responsibility of the Department of Administrative Services (DOAS) to perform the following functions: (1) Establish and maintain a state-wide system of pay ranges for all job classes; (2) Define job classes, establish associated minimum qualifications for those classes, and assign those classes to appropriate pay ranges; (3) Develop and maintain a common employment application form to be used by all applicants for state employment, which form may be supplemented as necessary by agencies in seeking information about agency job classes; (4) Develop, validate, or administer applicant screening devices when requested by agencies and when funding for such activities can be accomplished on a cost recovery basis; (5) In consultation with agencies, establish state-wide criteria for the implementation of rules and policies adopted by the State Personnel Board which agencies shall use in developing internal processes for classification, compensation, pay for performance, and performance management, including processes involved in defining job classes, establishing and applying associated minimum qualifications, assigning jobs to appropriate state-wide pay ranges, developing and applying applicant screening methods, and measuring worker effectiveness; (6) Audit agencies' processes as referred to in paragraph (5) of this subsection and report findings annually to the Governor and the General Assembly in conjunction with an annual report on the overall status of the state work force. The DOAS shall not be required to distribute copies of the findings or annual report referred to in this paragraph to the members of the General Assembly but shall notify the members of the availability of the materials in the manner which it deems to be most effective and efficient; and (7) Maintain and make available to the public at large a state-wide central registry of employment vacancies and job announcements in state government as provided by agencies. (d) Subsection (c) of this Code section shall not apply to the legislative or judicial branches or to the board of regents. (e) Each agency shall develop a work force plan as a component of the strategic plan required by Code Section 45-12-177 . (f) In the event agencies do not use a competitive civil service examination to fill some or all of their unclassified positions, it is expressly the intent of the General Assembly that appropriate consideration be given to veterans as defined under Article IV, Section III, Paragraph II of the Constitution of Georgia and Article 2 of Chapter 2 of this title in the filling of job vacancies in this state. Guidelines defining consideration practices shall be developed at the state level. Agencies shall specify agency policies and practices to implement appropriate consideration of military veterans in filling agency job vacancies. (g) The rules of statutory construction contained in Chapter 3 of Title 1, relating to general provisions concerning the construction of statutes, as now or hereafter amended, shall apply to this article.