Position Justification

It is the policy of the Classification and Pay Unit that all Requests for Personnel Action (RPA) are submitted with an appropriate position justification.

Components of a Justification
When filling a vacant position with a different classification or when promoting an incumbent in place with an RPA, the position justification must:

• Provide relevant background information
• Discuss how the proposed classification satisfies the classification specification and/or allocation standards
• Describe how the duties of the position fit into the role of the unit or the mission of the department.

The position justification is intended to amplify/clarify the duty statement and organizational chart placement and should answer the following questions:

• What has changed in the duties and responsibilities of the position? (include changes that have taken place in the organizational mission, structure, workload, backlog(s), special project(s), etc.)
• What is the level of responsibility for the classification/position?
• What is the complexity and sensitivity of the position?
• What is the initiative and originality of the position?
• What is the consequence of error of this position? (include the level of authority to make commitments, responsibility for decisions, etc.)
• What is the type of contact and relationship with others?
• Is there a change in the position's supervisory relationship? If so, to whom?
• How will the duties of the old position now be handled? (no longer exist, why?; handled by another, who/why?, etc.)
• Additional comments

When Required
A position justification is required for all personnel transactions.

If you are filling a vacancy, with no change in duties, the position justification may be brief; but should contain, at a minimum:

• The status of the prior incumbent (i.e., retired, promoted to another unit, training, or transferred to another department)
• The business need to fill the vacancy
• The consequences of not filling the vacancy

The position justification must include all components if the action requested is one of the following:

• Transferring
• Reclassifying
• Filling a position with a limited term appointment
• Substantially changing the duties

Hiring Freeze
During a hiring freeze, the Department of Finance (DOF) requires specific position information when submitting a Request for Hiring Freeze Exemption, DF-160a.

DGS developed a guide, Hiring Freeze Exemption Request Justification, which provides the requestor the questions to be answered on the DF-160a. The questions to be answered include:

• Consequence of not filling the position (as it relates to the Department, other State agencies, the public, etc.)
• Specific impact of not filling the position:
  • fiscal impact
  • impact on workload
  • impact on staffing
• Options/alternatives considered (also discuss ability to redirect work to other staff/units/programs/Departments, training and development (T&D) assignments, out-of-class assignments, transfer, etc.) and the results.