I-2020-12
Effective Date: | Expiration Date: | Chapters: |
April 6, 2020 | Sept. 30, 2020 | 8 9 10 11 13 36 38 |
Due to the impacts of COVID-19, the District government faces a projected Fiscal Year 2020 revenue shortfall of at least $600 million. To address this revenue shortfall, the Mayor has ordered restrictions on the expenditure of funds for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2020, which includes restrictions on personnel actions, training and travel. This issuance gives an overview of these restrictions and outlines the process for seeking waiver of these restrictions.
Agencies may not expend any funds on the below personnel actions, unless an exception applies or authorized through a written waiver issued on behalf of the City Administrator's office.
Action | Description and Restrictions |
---|---|
Additional Income Awards (AIA) | Additional Income Allowances are generally authorized by 6B DCMR §1143 and provide up to a 15% allowance as a hiring and retention incentive. AIAs are subject to the restrictions under this issuance. |
Awards |
Monetary and non-monetary awards are typically authorized under Chapter 19. Monetary and Tangible Item Awards are subject to the restrictions in this issuance. There are no restrictions on Time-Off Awards or Length of Service Awards. |
Bonuses |
Bonuses typically refer to Additional Income Allowances, Hiring Bonuses, and Performance Allowances. These bonuses are subject to the restrictions outlined in this issuance, except when required by a collective bargaining agreement. |
Hiring |
Hiring of employees is restricted by the Mayor’s Order. This includes hiring of external candidates to fill vacant positions and extensions of temporary and term appointments. Agencies are also prohibited from using contracting vehicles to augment agency staffing. The restriction on hiring does not apply to lateral reassignments or transfers of existing employees within and between agencies when there is no change in the employee’s salary. |
Pay Increases |
Agencies may not take any personnel actions that increase an employee’s established salary. This includes, but is not limited to quality salary increases, upward salary adjustments, reassignments resulting in increased pay, and competitive and non-competitive promotions resulting in increased pay. The restrictions on pay increases does not apply to step increases or cost-of-living adjustments required by law, regulation, court order, or a collective bargaining agreement. |
Pre-Employment Expenses |
Under some circumstances, agencies may reimburse candidates and new hires for pre-employment travel expenses, as well as relocation and temporary housing expenses. (See 6B DCRM §§ 911, 1003, and 1142.) At this time, these expenditures are not authorized absent a waiver. |
Reclassifications |
Classification refers to how employees’ duties and responsibilities are classified into occupational groups and families. Collectively, the occupational designations and the duties and responsibilities are reduced to a position description, which drives the grade and salary range for the given position. From time to time, an employee’s job must be reclassified. That is, an employee’s actual duties may change to such an extent that they are no longer performing the duties and responsibilities found in the original classified position description. When this occurs, DCHR evaluates and may reclassify an employee’s job to more properly align with his or her actual duties and responsibilities. When a position is reclassified it may result in a demotion (with a decrease in salary), a promotion (with an increase in salary), or it may simply result in a change in the occupational series without a change in pay. Reclassification actions that would otherwise result in a pay increase may be authorized only through the waiver process described below. Moreover, until further notice, all reclassification actions are suspended except when specifically authorized by DCHR. |
Positions within certain agencies are exempt from the hiring freeze. These positions include the following:
In the interest of public safety during the COVID-19 emergency, and to alleviate the projected revenue shortfall, the District government is enacting travel and training restrictions to lower the risk of exposure and excess cost to the District.
All travel for the purpose of District government business is suspended unless the travel is:
Without exception, employees may not travel internationally for the purpose of District government business for any reason.
Employees may not travel for a training, seminar, or conference unless:
There may be circumstances when an agency needs to request a waiver to the above spending and personnel action restrictions. Agencies may request a waiver when:
Agencies should use the Waiver Request Form Template (Attachment 1) to submit waiver requests and follow the instructions in the Waiver Request Process for FY 2020 Spending and Hiring Freeze Memo and Submission Groups and Dates guidance from the Office of Budget and Performance Management (Attachments 2 and 3). Once the form is submitted, the City Administrator will make the determination of whether or not to waive the restriction.
DCHR is suspending position classification actions during the COVID-19 emergency. This suspension applies to all agencies under the Mayor’s authority, as well as agencies with independent personnel authority and independent agencies that receive classification services from DCHR.
During the suspension:
In certain instances, classification actions may be submitted with a written justification from the agency director to the Director, Department of Human Resources. These exceptions include, but are not limited to, actions that are deemed mission critical as determined by the agency and DCHR, those that are federally funded, or those actions that are mandated by the Council or the Executive Office of the Mayor. These exceptions will be reviewed by the Director of Human Resources on a case-by-case basis.
Agencies seeking an exceptions should first consult with DCHR, Human Resources Solutions Administration, Classification, Zondie Pendarvis, Human Resources Manager, at zondie.pendarvis@dc.gov, (202) 727-1599. Written justification for an exception may be by email to the DCHR Director at ventris.gibson@dc.gov. The justification must address why the position is “new,” and include the approval to fill the position from the City Administrator.
The D.C. Department of Human Resources (DCHR) is required to submit a report to the OCA detailing hiring activities (for the prior month) in subordinate agencies. The report, which is due by the 15th of each month, is to include a chart depicting the following information on new hires: name, position title, grade/step, hire date, service (i.e. Career Service, MSS, etc.), and employing agency. The report is derived from data collected through PeopleSoft and agencies will not typically need to take any additional action. However, DCHR may reach out to agencies occasionally to verify or correct PeopleSoft data.
The OCA will routinely assess hiring activities of subordinate agencies. Upon review of the report, if a determination is made that an agency has inadequate controls over its hiring of new employees, the requirement for the agency to obtain prior approval (of new hires) by the City Administrator may be reinstated, in accordance with Mayor's Order 2014-230, dated October 2, 2014.
Pursuant to City Administrator’s Order No. 2016-1, all subordinate agencies are required to submit monthly travel and training expense reports to the OCA. The report is due by the 15th of each month, and must include a chart that provides the following information:
Copies of each training and travel authorization form (signed by the agency head or designee) must also be included as an addendum to the report.
No employee of the District government may make or authorize an expenditure, obligation, or personnel action that is inconsistent with this Issuance. An officer or employee who violates the provisions in this Issuance shall be subject to appropriate administrative discipline, which may include, as warranted, suspension from duty without pay or removal from office.
This Order shall apply to all subordinate executive branch agencies of the District government. This Order shall apply during Fiscal Year 2020.
Independent agencies are encouraged to comply with this Issuance and to consult the Office of the City Administrator on the application and provisions of this Issuance and Mayor’s Order 2020-057 to their operations.
Issued by Director Ventris C. Gibson, D.C. Department of Human Resources on May 13, 2020, midnight