D. Demonstrating Appointing Authority Approval and Certification of Compliance with Civil Service Law 

(This section issued 03/07/03)

1. Defining Appointing Authority Approval and Certification Functions

The Appointing Authority for each agency is defined by state law, either by statute or constitutional provision. This statutory Appointing Authority has the power to authorize personnel transactions and, since decentralization in October of 2000, the added responsibility to certify that those transactions comply with Civil Service law. Civil Service Rules require an Appointing Authority to certify that each personnel transaction complies with the requirements of Article X of the Louisiana Constitution, the Civil Service Rules, the Uniform Classification and Pay Plans and the policies and procedures issued by the Director. (C.S. Rule 15.3b) The Appointing Authority may delegate the authority to approve transactions by Authentic Act or through less formal means. He may designate someone to certify each personnel transaction as compliant by written or less formal means. Approval to take an action and certification that the action is compliant with Civil Service law are two separate functions; the Appointing Authority can retain his sole right to exercise each or he may delegate approval and/or certification for compliance to the same or to different employees.

(For further explanation of these concepts in chart form, please refer to the Job Aids entitled "Certification of Rule Compliance" and "Appointing Authority Approval – Compliance Certification – Internal Controls.")

The Human Resources staff must know who has the authority to approve and to certify actions at the agency. Documentation of delegations of appointing authority to approve taking actions should be maintained in the Human Resources Office, as should any written documentation of who is the appointing authority’s designee, if any, to certify compliance.

Documentation for each personnel transaction must include:

• proof of the approval of the taking of the action by someone who had appointing authority, delegated or statutory, and

• proof of certification of the compliance of the action by the appointing authority or his designee.

Delegation of Appointing Authority to Approve Personnel Actions

In many agencies, the statutory Appointing Authority may find it impractical to personally sign every personnel transaction. Instead, the Appointing Authority may choose to delegate the power to authorize personnel actions to other members of the organization. For example, an Appointing Authority might choose to delegate the power to approve appointments and promotions to all Division Heads, and the power to approve merit increases to all Division Heads, Office Managers and Unit Supervisors. In this case, an appointment would have to have documentation of approval by a Division Head, while a merit increase would only require documentation of approval by a Unit Supervisor.

Although a statutory Appointing Authority may delegate to others the power to approve personnel transactions, the responsibility for the propriety of those transactions remains with the statutory Appointing Authority, or the person(s) whom he has designated or to whom he has delegated the authority to certify that personnel transactions are compliant with Civil Service law. Appointing Authorities must be prepared to demonstrate that they have delegated appointing authority approval power as well as compliance certification power responsibly and that they are exercising adequate control over the personnel activities within their agency.

When an Appointing Authority chooses to delegate the power to approve and/or certify personnel transactions, it is essential to document the terms and extent of the delegation. Delegation of authority may be informally documented in the form of a memo, policy statement or official procedure, or it may be formally documented by Authentic Act.

Informal documentation of delegation of appointing authority for approving personnel actions is generally adequate for most routine transactions. However, if an action is challenged, such as in an appeal, the person who delegated the authority must testify in person at the hearing.

For this reason, when an Appointing Authority delegates the power to approve disciplinary actions, such as reductions in pay, suspensions without pay, demotions or dismissals, it is wise to formally delegate, through Authentic Act or Rule. Having formal delegation of appointing authority approval will alleviate the need to have the Appointing Authority personally testify to the delegation.

Delegation of authority to certify compliance with Civil Service law may be documented informally in the form of a memo, policy statement or official procedure. Although the authority to certify compliance could be delegated by means of Authentic Act if the appointing authority so wished, informal documentation, such as in an agency policy, may suffice for an appointing authority.

Delegation of Authority by Authentic Act is accomplished when the statutory Appointing Authority signs a written statement of delegation before a notary and two competent witnesses. See the samples of Delegation of Appointing Authority by Authentic Act that follow.

Tips for Delegating Appointing Authority Approval

1. Wherever possible, delegate by authentic act when delegating appointing authority to approve the taking of personnel actions.

2. Pass authentic acts in quadruplicate originals so that the notary, the delegator, the person receiving the delegation, and the Human Resources Director can each be a custodian of an original. This will enable any one of these individuals to present a notarized original as needed.

3. Avoid re-delegating appointing authority. Although legal, each re-delegation must be proved in the same manner as the original delegation. A series of re-delegations becomes difficult to prove unless the original delegation and every re-delegation is by authentic act.

4. When a new statutory appointing authority takes office, update all delegations made by his/her predecessor.

5. Delegate authority to a particular position or to a named occupant of a particular position "and his/her successor in office." This avoids having to redo the delegation when the person receiving appointing authority leaves his/her position.

6. Even if no other authority is delegated, there should be at least one person at the work location, for each work shift, who has the authority to impose an emergency suspension and to accept a resignation.

7. Human Resources Directors should advise all supervisors and managers of what authority (if any) has been delegated to them. This is particularly important when incumbents change.

8. See sample forms of Delegation by Authentic Act that follow.

Parish of East Baton Rouge

State of Louisiana

BEFORE ME, the undersigned Notary, personally came and appeared:

T. Lee James,

Who, after being duly sworn by me, did depose and say: That he/she is the
Assistant Secretary for the Office of Facilities, in the Department of State Progress; that as such and pursuant to Revised Statute XX:XX, he/she is the appointing authority for all employees in that Office; that he/she hereby delegates to each of the following Facility Administrators, and to their successors in office, appointing authority for all employees assigned to their respective facilities:

Thus done and passed in my office in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in quadruplicate originals, before the witnesses whose signatures appear below, this 1^st day of May, 2003.

Parish of East Baton Rouge

State of Louisiana

BEFORE ME, the undersigned Notary, personally came and appeared:

Chris Jones

Who, after being duly sworn by me, did depose and say: That he/she is the

Assistant Secretary for the Office of Policy, in the Department of State Programs; that as such and pursuant to Revised Statute XX:XX, he/she is the appointing authority for all employees in that Office; that he/she is the appointing authority for that Office;

That h/she hereby delegates to Pat Smith, the Human Resources Director, in the Office of Management and Finance, and to his/her successor in office, the following authority with respect to the employees of the Office of Management and Finance.

Thus done and passed in my office in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in quadruplicate originals, before the witnesses whose signatures appear below, this 1^st day of May, 2003.

Parish of East Baton Rouge

State of Louisiana

BEFORE ME, the undersigned Notary, personally came and appeared:

Taylor Morgan

Who, after being duly sworn by me, did depose and say: That he/she is the

Executive Director for the Housing Authority of Citytown; that as such and pursuant to Revised Statute XX:XX, he/she is the appointing authority for all employees of that Housing Authority;

That h/she hereby delegates to Leslie Whitney, the Assistant Director, and to his/her successor in office, appointing authority for all employees of the Housing Authority, except the authority to remove or dismiss an employee who had attained permanent status.

Thus done and passed in my office in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in quadruplicate originals, before the witnesses whose signatures appear below, this 1^st day of May, 2003.

3. Ways To Document Appointing Authority Approval and Certification of Compliance

Documentation of approval (permission) to take an action by an Appointing Authority, whether statutory or delegated, may take many forms. The most classic form of documentation is an Appointing Authority’s signature on the form used to record an action. However, documentation might also be a copy of a memo or an e-mail from an Appointing Authority, instructing the Human Resources office to execute some action. No matter what the particular format, there must be documentation to show that an Appointing Authority, or his or her official designee, granted permission for the action to be taken.

In addition, documentation of the certification that the action was taken in compliance with Civil Service law must also be present for each personnel transaction. The simplest form of this documentation may be the signature of the Appointing Authority or of his designee for certification following a certification statement on the form used to record the action. The person whose signature documents the certification of compliance will be the person who will be held to be responsible if that personnel transaction does not comply with Civil Service law.

Below are some examples of various ways that agencies can document the delegation of Appointing Authority for approval of an action and Certification for Compliance functions. This is in no way an all-inclusive list of the ways documentation of such delegations can be done; we advise any agency with questions about the adequacy of its documentation of these functions to contact the Accountability Division of Civil Service.

This statement would need to appear on the form used by the agency/facility to record personnel transactions or on a separate form that would have enough information to identify the particular personnel transaction being approved and certified..

I authorize the above action and hereby certify that it complies with Article X of the Constitution of the State of Louisiana, the Civil Service Rules, the Uniform Classification and Pay Plans, and the policies and procedures issued by the Director of Civil Service.

An agency policy issued by the appointing authority would specify that the signature of the appointing authority (or his delegated designee) on a particular line on particular form(s) constitutes both authorization of the personnel action and also certification the personnel action complies with Article X of the Constitution of the State of Louisiana, the Civil Service Rules, the Uniform Classification and Pay Plans, and the policies and procedures issued by the Director of Civil Service.

Remember that the memo(s) would have to show the appointing authority’s approval to take the action and his certification that all parts of the action (the method of filling, who was selected, the position, and the salary paid) were in compliance with Civil Service law. A copy(ies) of such memo(s) is required to be maintained in the employee personnel file with the relevant personnel transaction.

Remember that the e-mail(s) would have to show the appointing authority’s approval to take the action and his certification that all parts of the action (the method of filling, who was selected, the position, and the salary paid) were in compliance with Civil Service law. A copy(ies) of such e-mail(s) is required to be maintained in the employee personnel file with the relevant personnel transaction.

These statements would need to appear on the form used by the agency/facility to record personnel transactions or on two separate forms, one on the form to record personnel transactions and one on a separate form that would have enough information to identify the particular personnel transaction being certified.

I authorize the above action.

I hereby certify that the above identified action complies with Article X of the Constitution of the State of Louisiana, the Civil Service Rules, the Uniform Classification and Pay Plans, and the policies and procedures issued by the Director of Civil Service.

B. Establishing the meaning of signatures (responsibility) by policy.

An agency policy issued by the appointing authority would specify that the signature of the appointing authority (or someone to whom he has delegated appointing authority) on a particular line on particular form(s) constitutes authorization of the personnel action. The policy would also specify to whom he was delegating authority to certify the compliance of personnel actions with Civil Service law and that the signature of this person on a particular line of particular form(s) constitutes certification the personnel action complies with Article X of the Constitution of the State of Louisiana, the Civil Service Rules, the Uniform Classification and Pay Plans, and the policies and procedures issued by the Director of Civil Service.

OR

An agency policy issued by the appointing authority would specify that the signature of the appointing authority (or someone to whom he has delegated appointing authority) on a particular line on particular form(s) constitutes authorization of the personnel action. The same or another policy would also specify that he delegates to the Human Resources Director the responsibility for establishing controls whereby the Human Resources Office/Department (or professional staff within the HR Dept. or the like) will ensure that (certify that) the personnel action complies with Article X of the Constitution of the State of Louisiana, the Civil Service Rules, the Uniform Classification and Pay Plans, and the policies and procedures issued by the Director of Civil Service. (One example of such a policy can be found under Job Aids entitled "Sample Agency Policy for Certification of Compliance of Personnel Action with Civil Service Law."

Remember that the memo would have to show the appointing authority’s approval to take the action. A separate memo from, or a forwarding of the first memo to and approval by, the person so designated would certify that all parts of the action (the method of filling, who was selected, the position, and the salary paid) were in compliance with Civil Service law. Copies of such memos are required to be maintained in the employee personnel file with the relevant personnel transaction.

Remember that the e-mail would have to show the appointing authority’s approval to take the action. A separate e-mail from, or a forwarding of the first e-mail to and approval by, the person so designated would certify that all parts of the action (the method of filling, who was selected, the position, and the salary paid) were in compliance with Civil Service law. Copies of such e-mails are required to be maintained in the employee personnel file with the relevant personnel transaction.

In addition to documentation of Appointing Authority approval and certification of transactions, the agency must also implement procedures that provide adequate internal controls. Internal controls should provide a system of review, or checks and balances, to ensure that the execution of transactions matches the approvals. Adequate internal controls support and enable the certification of compliance with Civil Service law. Internal controls should include routine reviews of the exercise of discretion granted by the Appointing Authority.

Can you answer these questions:

• What prevents the offering of employment to a person or promotion to an employee without the Appointing Authority or his designee knowing it has been offered?
• What guides your employees in performing their duties in the HR program? To what can they refer for help?
• Does each of your HR employees have a Standard Operating Procedure for his job assignment(s)?
• How do you know that your HR employees are doing their jobs correctly in relation to personnel transactions?
• What prevents a check from being generated to a fictitious employee by your payroll system entry person(s)?
• For each payroll, what double check do you have in place to be sure that the amount issued on the check is the amount you intended to pay the employee?
• How do you know if supervisors are completing human resources tasks on time and completely? For example, Performance Planning and Review (PPR) planning sessions, PPR ratings, attainment of permanent status recommendations, recapitulation forms or other records to record applicant flow, just to name a few.
• Do you know the training records of each HR employee and do you have a training plan for each based on the employee needs and the needs of your HR programs?

Types of Internal Controls

• Internal controls can take many forms. Where Civil Service Rules offer no option otherwise, Civil Service Rules are controls. Some examples of internal controls could include:
• Agency policies and procedures.
• HR policies and procedures and SOP’s.
• Review of work by another employee and documenting that review by initialing.
• Double checking one’s own work and documenting that by initialing.
• Generating periodic and regular reports to check accurate entry into records systems.
• Developing checklists and having employees sign off on items they complete.
• Having an HR internal audit unit or function.
• Periodically reviewing HR related records and actions delegated to managers and supervisors outside the HR Office/Department.
• Establishing security procedures/policies to protect confidential information and signature stamps.
• Establishing check and balance systems so that a complete HR function cannot be performed without the involvement or review of more than one employee.
• Holding HR employees accountable for the functions of their jobs by means of timely, thorough, job-specific PPR performance expectations and timely and thorough PPR reviews.

Examples of Adequate Internal Controls

Depending on the process selected by your agency, good internal controls in the area of Appointing Authority certification and approval could involve (this is only a partial list with some examples):

• Delegation of authority by Authentic Act to the person or persons signing for the various personnel actions.
• Establishment in writing, by policy or otherwise (for example, up-to-date standard operating procedures, copies of e-mails) of person or persons to whom the appointing authority has delegated authority for signing for the various personnel actions.
• If a signature stamp is used, use of stamp is confined to persons with official delegated authority to use the stamp and approve the particular personnel actions involved. In addition, the agency must demonstrate the security of the signature stamp (that is, that no unauthorized person can have access to it) and have written procedures on proper use of the stamp.
• If no other means such as forms are used, maintaining copies of e-mails or other notes in employee files to document approval of each personnel action by appropriate Appointing Authority.
• To certify that all personnel actions are done in compliance with the Rules, etc., an Appointing Authority needs to specify if he is delegating that authority (for certification in addition to approval). For example, an Appointing Authority may wish to reserve the right to sign approval of (certain) personnel actions but he may wish to state that he delegates the certification that all personnel actions have been taken in compliance with Civil Service law to the HR Director, or the professional employees of the HR Office.
• Establishment by policy or written standard operating procedures approved by the Appointing Authority that the agency/facility will use certain options allowed by Civil Service Rules in establishing pay upon hiring, promotion, reallocation, demotion, special pay options.

Examples of "Dangerous" Internal Control Procedures or Practices

• The following internal control procedures or practices would be termed "dangerous" to use (this is only a partial list with some examples):
• Verbal delegation of Appointing Authority to approve all or particular personnel transactions.
• Verbal delegation of appointing authority to certify that each personnel transaction is taken in accordance with Civil Service Rules, etc.
• Assuming that entry into a personnel or payroll software system in and of itself constitutes certification of compliance with CS Rules, etc. Indication that compliance was checked and by whom it was checked must be noted in some fashion.
• Loose or no security on use or storage of signature stamp. Use of signature stamp by someone who has not been delegated the authority to use the stamp by the Appointing Authority.
• Failure to consistently follow agency’s established written policy or standard operating procedure in establishing pay under the various options allowed under Civil Service Rules.
• Having no procedure in place to regularly ensure that employees are being paid what was authorized and that other entry errors concerning personnel actions are not occurring. In short, a procedure to check that you have entered what you intended to enter.