7
service, there were many policies con
cerning vacations, pay, leaves, and other
personnel matters. The need of a civil
service act was readily recognized and
admitted by conscientious and fair
minded people.
What Is the Remedy?
The Civil Service A ct intends that
its administration will provide uniform
ity in the principles of good personnel
relationships. Every move to place in
effect a fair and impartial principle
under the act has met with some de
partment head’s resistance at one level
of another. Such resistance is no excuse
to controvert Or defeat the intent of
the act. Such resistances will break
down under the weight of popular sup
port given and assured to a forceful
and? impartial administration of any
rule or policy which is based on merit
and fairness to the large majority of
those affected.
O.S.E.A. Tells Civil Service of
Opposition to Curtailed Leaves
Ju ly 31, 1947
141 Pacific Building
Salem, Oregon
State Civil Service Commission
444 Center Street
Salem, Oregon
Gentlemen:
With regard to your p r o p o s e d
amendments to the Civil Service Rules
and Regulations, on which a public
hearing is to be held A ugust 1, 1947,
the Oregon State Employees Associa
tion respectfully requests your serious
reconsideration of the following:
1. Rule II Proposed paragraph x 40,
defining "w ork day or working day.”
2. Rule X V III Sections 2 and 3,
pertaining to leaves of absence.
We present our basic principle of
dissatisfaction with the above proposed
changes as follows:
With reference to vacation with pay
for regular employees, as provided for
in the Civil Service A ct, we believe
the intent to be that each such em
ployee has been granted at least one
of his full regular work days as a
vacation period for each full calendar
month o f service in which he remains
in the employ o f the state.
The present rules consistently use
the term "working day” in all refer
ences to leaves of absence. It is d iffi
cult to understand why such term is
to be changed to a "business day.” The
•act itself, Subdivision 4, Section 18,
Chapter 400, Oregon Laws 1945, which
deals solely with vacations,; says "N o
vacations in excess o f 26 work days
shall be granted in any one year.”
This sentence follows the law’s dic
tate that vacation with pay shall be
"n ot less than one days for each full
calendar month of service and may be
cumulative.”
This law seems to have been com-
plied with in the present rules. The
proposed amendments appear to change
the working and the meaning of the
act by substituting the word "business”
for the word “ work.”
It appears to this Association that
a recent opinion of the attorney gen
eral, opinion No. 389 of June 28, 1947,
has been rendered at. your request of
June 23, 1947. The opinion cites that
your request was based on the premise
that the present regulations provide
"in effect, for two calendar weeks
vacation with pay.” Your question to
the attorney general was, "Question
has now been raised as whether the
continued application of this concept
is consistent with the provision of the
law cited above when state departments
may work under different schedules.”
It is axiomatic that in order to reach
a proper decision in any matter, evi
dence and facts are required uncolored
from preconceived ideas, opinions or
prejudice.
With due respect, we call attention