Backdating (apppointments/entitlements)

The California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) delegates authority to department Personnel Officers to backdate mandatory appointments and correct an employee’s pay or employment history. State Personnel Board (SPB) approval is still required for backdated appointments beyond 60 workdays.

Backdating requires a justification for the correction (e.g., promotional appointments require substantiating the employee performed duties at the higher level as of the retroactive effective date).

Reasons for backdating transactions may include:

Adverse Actions
Appointments
Industrial (IDL)/ Non-Industrial (NDI)/State (SDI) Disability Leave
Merit Salary Adjustment (MSA)/ Special In-grade Salary Adjustment (SISA)
Maternity Leave
Military Leave
Out of Class
Overtime, Regular, or Lump Sum pay
Permissive Reinstatements
Position number changes
Probation periods
Service retirement
Voluntary resignation

It is the policy of the Department of General Services' (DGS) Office of Human Resources (OHR) to authorize backdated appointments and/or make corrections to an individual’s employment history. However, on a case-by-case basis, OHR will review requests for backdated appointments and/or corrections to an individual’s employment history up to a maximum of three years. All backdated transactions must adhere to criteria outlined in this section.

Supervisors should obtain OHR Classification and Pay (C&P) analyst approval before assigning higher-level duties to an employee. Failure to do so may create an out-of-class situation and subsequent grievances.

Procedure

The table below outlines the roles and responsibilities for backdating transactions.

ROLE	RESPONSIBILITY
Employee Resource Liaison (ERL)	Submit a Request for Personnel Action (RPA) to their C&P analyst. The package must include the duties, effective date, justification for the correction, and reason for the delayed correction.
C&P Analyst	Assess how the employee was notified of the assignment (i.e., was the employee given specific information in writing?), their eligibility, duties, and effective date for compliance with applicable laws, rules, and labor agreements. Backdated appointments must meet all of the following criteria on their effective date: The duties existed and were consistent with the requested classification; and The individual was eligible for the classification, tenure, and time base on the appointment date; and The individual performed the duties of the requested classification and was reachable on the eligibility list or had other eligibility for appointment to the classification; and The Department of Finance (DOF) approved funding for the position; and The State Personnel Board (SPB) adopted the requested classification. After reviewing the RPA package, the C&P analyst will: Process the RPA and route to Personnel Specialist; or Deny request and return RPA to the ERL to be cancelled or request additional information.
Personnel Specialist	If RPA is approved, document the Personnel Action Request (PAR) according to the Personnel Action Manual (PAM) “Date of Entitlement” instructions.

ROLE

RESPONSIBILITY

Employee Resource Liaison (ERL)

Submit a Request for Personnel Action (RPA) to their C&P analyst. The package must include the duties, effective date, justification for the correction, and reason for the delayed correction.

C&P Analyst

Assess how the employee was notified of the assignment (i.e., was the employee given specific information in writing?), their eligibility, duties, and effective date for compliance with applicable laws, rules, and labor agreements.

Backdated appointments must meet all of the following criteria on their effective date:

The duties existed and were consistent with the requested classification; and
The individual was eligible for the classification, tenure, and time base on the appointment date; and
The individual performed the duties of the requested classification and was reachable on the eligibility list or had other eligibility for appointment to the classification; and
The Department of Finance (DOF) approved funding for the position; and
The State Personnel Board (SPB) adopted the requested classification.

After reviewing the RPA package, the C&P analyst will:

Process the RPA and route to Personnel Specialist; or
Deny request and return RPA to the ERL to be cancelled or request additional information.

Personnel Specialist

If RPA is approved, document the Personnel Action Request (PAR) according to the Personnel Action Manual (PAM) “Date of Entitlement” instructions.

Resources

CalHR Personnel Management Liaison Memorandum 2007-026

Backdating

Procedure

Resources

Contact