Affirmative Action

• Does the State have an affirmative action plan?
• Where are the affirmative action plans filed?
• Does the public have access to review the plans?
• Who is responsible for monitoring these affirmative action plans?
• What are the consequences should agency not meet its Affirmative Action Goals?
• What steps are in place in the event an agency fails to meet its affirmative action goals?
• What recruitment and outreach efforts are made by the state to recruit and retain minorities and women?

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Classification and Compensation

These questions/answers refer only to employees covered in the Classified System Personnel Rules and are addressed in a broad format. Employees are encouraged to contact their agency personnel office for the most accurate information, as answers may be agency dependent.

• Where do I get a Comprehensive Position Questionnaire (CPQ) form?

• Where can I get a copy of the Classified System Personnel Rules and Regulations?

• Is my position Rules covered or Labor Contract covered?

• How does the classification process work?

• How do I appeal a classification decision?

• If I transfer from a non-classified agency (such as the University of Nebraska) to an agency within the State Classified Personnel System, what happens to my sick and vacation time?

• If I leave employment with the State (not related to discipline issues) and return to a position covered by the Classified System Personnel Rules, What happens to my service date? What happens to my unpaid sick time?

• How much of a pay raise do I receive if my position is reclassified to a higher salary grade?

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Administration
Statehouse Observer

• When will the next Statehouse Observer be published?
• What are the deadlines for submission to the Statehouse Observer?
• How do I get an article published in the Statehouse Observer?
• Why is the Statehouse Observer so late to out-state Nebraska?

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Administration
Vendor Solicitation Policy

• Can I post information about my business in the State Office building?

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Administration
Employee Recognition

• How do I submit an Employee Recognition Plan for approval?
• How do I submit a request for an event under the guidelines of our agency's Employee Recognition Plan?
• I broke my 10-year cup! Can I get a replacement?

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Health and Life Benefits

• What benefit plans are offered to State employees?
• What is the difference between a PPO, HMO, and POS health insurance plan?
• When can I make changes to my health insurance coverage?
• What is COBRA?
• How much does COBRA cost?
• What is a Flexible Spending Account?

Affirmative Action

Nebraska does not have a centralized affirmative action plan. Twenty-one agencies, whose directors are appointed by the Governor, are required to submit affirmative action plans to AS State Personnel, for review and approval.

These plans are filed with AS State Personnel for review and approval.

Copies for review may be obtained from the individual agencies.

State Personnel monitors the progress of the Affirmative Action Plans. Agencies submit Affirmative Action Quarterly Progress reports on the status of affirmative action goals and timetables. These goals and timetables are established by each individual agency. If the agencies do not meet their goals and objectives, the Affirmative Action Administrator meets with the director of the agency to discuss any deficiencies. If an agreement cannot be reached in an informal meeting, the agency’s noncompliance will be reviewed by the Affirmative Action Committee and reported to the Governor if resolution of the noncompliance cannot be reached.

Agency's affirmative action plans are planning documents. Should the agency not meet their goals and timetables, there are no reprisals. Goals and timetables are not quotas. If goals and objectives are not met, they are reset and efforts are made to accomplish them in the next planned year.

What steps are in place in the event an agency fails to meet its affirmative action goals?

Each agency is responsible for its own affirmative action plan and these plans are submitted to AS State Personnel each year for approval. Subsequently, these plans are followed with quarterly reports. This annual plan review process, the quarterly updates, and Affirmative Action Committee review combine to make the Nebraska Affirmative Action Program as successful as possible.

Nebraska has experienced difficulty in recruiting employees. A major reason for this difficulty lies in the fact that we are experiencing a period of low unemployment rates. Agencies, as part of their outreach, and in the normal course of doing business, in coordination with AS State Personnel, visit high schools, and community colleges. They also visit four-year colleges, universities, and other organizations with large minority student populations and traditionally minority or female colleges for recruiting and hiring purposes.

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Classification and Compensation

These questions/answers refer only to employees covered in the Classified System Personnel Rules and are addressed in a broad format. Employees are encouraged to contact their agency personnel office for the most accurate information, as answers may be agency dependent.

Copies can be obtained from your agency Personnel/Human Resources contact person, or the AS State Personnel office. Or, you can download a version of the Position Description Questionnaire (PDQ) here.

These can be obtained from your agency Personnel/Human Resources contact or on the Web here.

For employees covered by a Labor Contract, the Labor Contracts can be accessed here.

Generally speaking, positions that are supervisory, general management, confidential or temporary, are excluded from the Contract. To verify your position status, please see your agency Personnel/Human Resources contact person or refer to Chapter 1 of the Classified System Personnel Rules.

For a position review, an employee must complete a Comprehensive Position Questionnaire (CPQ), or Position Description Questionnaire (PDQ) and submit it to their agency. (See Chapter 3-Definitions for proper use usage of PDQ’s and CPQ’s.) From that point, the agency reviews the CPQ, includes any additional information, and forwards everything to State Personnel. State Personnel then begins the final review and determination process. For more specific information regarding this process, please refer to Chapter 7 in the Classified System Personnel Rules.

If an employee or agency does not agree with the classification decision of AS State Personnel, they may request reconsideration, in writing, within 15 work days from notification of the classification decision to the Director of Personnel, AS State Personnel Division, and shall explain in detail the reasons for such a request. The letter shall contain a concise and specific statement as to why the decision was inappropriate, the specific reasons therefore, and a statement of the classification sought. An employee request shall be forwarded through the agency head to the Director of Personnel, AS State Personnel Division. The Director of Personnel, AS State Personnel Division, shall assign [a] different Personnel Analyst[s] to conduct the second review. Following a thorough review, the Analyst[s] shall present a recommendation to the Director of Personnel, AS State Personnel Division. The Director of Personnel, AS State Personnel Division, shall ensure that: 1) proper application of the State’s classification methodology was utilized in the decision making process, 2) the issues raised by the employee were taken into consideration, and 3) that the information used in the decision-making process was accurate and correct. The review shall be limited to the issues raised by the appellant in the initial request for reconsideration of the classification decision. New evidence shall not be allowed.

The amount of sick and vacation leave time you would have earned had you been in the State Classified Personnel System will be transferred over to the new agency, minus any time you already used. You will not start with a negative balance.

Employees returning to a Rules-covered position after a break in service of less than five calendar years may have their service date adjusted for the period of absence, meaning the employee will earn leave at the same rate as when they left state employment. Check with your agency Personnel/Human Resources contact as some agency discretion may be applied in certain instances. Contract covered employees should refer to questions/answers provided by the AS Employee Relations Division.

Employees returning to a Rules-covered position after a break in service of less than three calendar years will have their accumulated unpaid sick leave balance restored. Check with your agency Personnel/Human Resources contact as some agency discretion may be applied in certain instances. Contract covered employees should refer to questions/answers provided by the AS Employee Relations Division.

Employees placed in a higher salary grade may receive up to a 10% pay increase per salary grade advanced, at the agency head's discretion except in a few cases. Refer to Chapter 8 of the Classified System Personnel Rules for a listing of exceptions. Contract covered employees should refer to questions/answers provided by the AS Employee Relations Division.

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Administration - Statehouse Observer

The Statehouse Observer is a quarterly newsletter that is distributed to all State Employees. The Observer is distributed mid-month in February, May, August, and November.

Click here to view the new online Statehouse Observer.

Click here to view the editions from the past year

Deadline for the Observer is roughly three weeks before the distribution date. This usually falls on the 20 or 21 of January, April, July, and October.

Articles should be submitted to: State Personnel, Stacey Dvorak, 1st floor, NSOB, phone: 402-471-4112, fax: 402-471-3754, email stacey.dvorak@nebraska.gov. Or, you can mail them to AS State Personnel, ATTN: Stacey Dvorak, PO Box 94905, Lincoln, NE 68509.

Electronic media is preferred, but all submissions are welcome. Each article will be judged on its individual merit. Articles must be of general interest to State Employees. While some articles may be edited for length, grammar, or format, every effort will be made to keep the content intact.

Unfortunately, the most cost-effective distribution method means some individuals do not receive their Observer in a timely manner. The Observer is delivered in bulk to agencies. Large agencies must then disperse the newsletter to individual departments and so forth. A newsletter may go through several stops after it leaves the Print Shop and before it gets to the hands of an employee.

To offset the problem AS Personnel is making plans to begin posting the Statehouse Observer online. While this will not eliminate the problem, it should go far toward making the newsletter accessible statewide as soon as possible.

Click here to view the editions from the past year

Administration - Vendor Solicitation Policy

The Vendor Solicitation Policy has been developed in order to respond to requests to directly solicit State employees on State property. Vendors may make written request to the Director of State Personnel to distribute information within State buildings. State Personnel must approve this request, in writing, before any distribution of material.

Administration - Employee Recognition

It is recommended you review the AS guideline for Employee Recognition before developing your plan. Once your plan is complete, submit a copy of it to the Director, AS State Personnel for approval. The director will make recommendations as needed to insure the plan fits within the guidelines. Sample plans are available upon request.

Requests should be sent to the Director, AS State Personnel. Requests must include the date of the event, name of the honoree(s), and a cost breakdown for items requested.
Sample request:

The Department of *** requests approval to spend $150 for coffee, cookies, and table service on a reception to honor Jane Doe's retirement. The reception will be held March 1, 2000. We will be serving 75 employees.

There are a limited number of replacement cups available each year for the 10-year, 15-year, 20-year, and 25-year awards. AS State Personnel will need to confirm the year you earned your cup, and will check on availability. These cups are ordered in batches of 12-24, which is why we may have a few extras. Once supplies are out, they cannot be reordered.

Unfortunately personalized cups (30-year and beyond) cannot be easily replaced. They are ordered individually and must be reordered individually. If a personalized cup is broke, the agency will bear responsibility for the replacement cost.

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Health and Life Benefits

AS State Personnel offers a variety of benefit programs that can be mixed and matched to meet the specific need of most employees. The benefit programs offered include a PPO, HMO, and POS health insurance plan. PPO dental insurance, Vision, Long Term Care, and Long Term Disability insurance are offered as voluntary programs. Basic, Supplemental, Dependent life insurance, and Accidental Death and Dismemberment insurance and an Employee Assistance Program as well as Flexible Spending Accounts are also offered as benefit options.

PPO - Preferred Provider Organization
A special arrangement between an insurer and hospitals, physicians and other health care professionals to pay for health care services, resulting in savings for the insured. PPO coverage does not require you to use a PPO doctor.

HMO - Health Maintenance Organization
An approach to health care utilizing the Primary Care Physician (PCP) concept. HMOs provide preventive care, such as routine physicals, education, and early intervention to decrease occurrence of disease.

POS - Point of Service
A health care plan that utilizes a Primary Care Physician but also provides insurance coverage for any provider you choose to see. If a health care provider, other than your PCP is used, deductibles and co-payments apply.

Health, dental, and vision insurance contributions are tax-sheltered through an IRS Section 125 plan. Flexible Spending Account contributions are also tax sheltered under the Section 125 provisions. Section 125 requirements allow benefit changes at an open enrollment period or if a qualifying event occurs. Qualifying events, as defined by Section 125, are as follows:

• Marriage
• Birth or adoption of a child
• Death of a spouse or dependent
• Legal divorce or legal separation
• Unmarried dependent child between 19 and 24 years of age enrolling, graduating, changing from full-time to part-time student status, or dropping out of an accredited college or university
• A change in employment status for you or your spouse

COBRA is a federal law allowing the continuation of Health, Dental, Vision, and Employee Assistance Plans for employees or dependents that would otherwise lose group coverage due to a qualifying event. Employees, who lose health insurance coverage due to termination, may continue on the State Sponsored group insurance plans for 18 months. Dependents who lose coverage may continue for up to 36 months.

The COBRA member is responsible for the entire premium cost plus a two-percent administration fee. There is no employer contribution.

The State offers two types of Flexible Spending Accounts. The first is for unreimbursed medical expenses. The second type is for dependent care expenses. The purpose of the Flexible Spending Account program is to allow employees to decrease their taxable income by paying for certain medical and dependent care expense on a pretax basis. Certain rules and provisions apply so it is important to fully understand the program prior to electing to participate.

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