Current through Vol. 42, No. 1, September 16, 2024
I, J. Kevin Stitt, Governor of the State of Oklahoma, pursuant
to the power and authority vested in me by Sections 1 and 2 of Article VI of
the Oklahoma Constitution and by Subsection D of Section
840-2.14
of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes, hereby order a State agency personnel
action freeze for classified employee positions and unclassified Information
Technology ("IT") positions (hereinafter referred to as "personnel freeze").
This personnel freeze does not apply to unclassified employee positions unless
specifically mentioned herein.
For purposes of this personnel freeze, I hereby delegate
authority to approve or disapprove exemption requests to:
1) the statewide elected officials who direct
and manage State employing entities ("agencies")
1; and
2) for all other State agencies, the
appropriate Cabinet Secretary, as designated by the Executive Order in effect
that creates the Cabinet System pursuant to 74 O.S. § 10.3. In the event
the appropriate Cabinet Secretary position is vacant, or if the Cabinet
Secretary is unavailable to act in a timely manner, the authority to approve or
disapprove exemptions is delegated to the State Chief Operating Officer.
This hiring freeze shall be implemented by all agencies in
accordance with the following guidelines:
1. No audits of classified positions or
reallocation of unclassified positions shall be initiated or conducted at the
request of any agency unless specifically approved by the appropriate statewide
elected official or Cabinet Secretary (collectively referred to as "Cabinet
Secretary"). Provided, however, an audit at the request of an employee who
files a classification grievance shall be conducted during this personnel
freeze in accordance with 74 O.S. § 840.43.
2. Except as specifically provided and
authorized by this Order, all agencies are prohibited from hiring, reinstating,
granting salary raises, awarding performance bonuses, and promoting classified
employees and from accepting a transferred classified employee from another
agency without first securing the express, written approval of the appropriate
Cabinet Secretary.
3. With regard
to classified and unclassified IT positions, all hiring, reinstatement, salary
raises, performance bonuses, promotions, or acceptances of transferred
employees, shall require the exclusive written approval of the State Chief
Operating Officer.
4. For personnel
actions meeting any of the criteria outlined in paragraphs 2 or 3 above, an
exemption to this personnel freeze may only be granted if the Chief
Administrative Officer of an agency submits a request to, and receives approval
from, the appropriate Cabinet Secretary for that agency, or, for IT personnel
actions, approval from, the State Chief Operating Officer. Requests for
exemptions and approvals shall be made in the following manner:
a. A Chief Administrative Officer shall
submit a written request to the appropriate Cabinet Secretary stating the
special conditions requiring the submission of the request.
b. Such requests shall be submitted through
the electronic exception process of the Human Capital Management Division of
the Office of Management and Enterprise Services ("OMES"), hereinafter referred
to as HCM, if such electronic exception process is available.
c. Upon finding that the request for an
exemption to this personnel freeze is justified based on the special
conditions, as identified by the agency's Chief Administrative Officer, the
Cabinet Secretary shall indicate his or her approval of the exemption in
writing.
d. All approved requests
and Cabinet Secretary findings shall be maintained in accordance with the
Records Management Act, and in HCM's exception system, if available.
5. The Director of OMES is hereby
directed to develop and implement procedures necessary to carry out the
provisions of this Order.
6. The
Director of OMES is authorized to require Cabinet Secretaries to provide him or
her with periodic accountings of approvals and disapprovals of requests for
exemptions to this personnel freeze, a copy of such accountings shall also be
provided to the Governor. To ensure proper monitoring, the Director of OMES is
authorized to develop a protocol requiring all Cabinet Secretaries to regularly
report all personnel actions related to this Order in their respective areas of
responsibility.
7. The Oklahoma
Military Department's personnel actions shall comply with this Order, except
for those actions and contracts for which the Department receives total federal
government reimbursement.
In furtherance of this personnel freeze, HCM, in consultation
with agencies that have been placed under the Merit System of Personnel
Administration, shall conduct a study of all classified positions, which shall
be submitted to this office upon completion. Such study shall consider and
address the following:
1. Identify
classified job families, or levels within job families, that are better suited
for unclassified service.
2.
Determine the extent to which each Merit System agency is required to maintain
personnel standards on a merit basis by federal law or regulations for
grant-in-aid programs.
3. Define a
framework for the management and maintenance of an unclassified workforce that
maximizes organizational flexibility without compromising essential merit and
fitness employment principals.
Copies of this Order shall be distributed to all statewide
elected officials, the State Chief Operating Officer, Cabinet Secretaries, and
the Director of OMES for immediate implementation.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have set my hand and caused the Great Seal
of the State of Oklahoma to be affixed at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, this 5
th day of March, 2021.
BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA
J. Kevin Stitt
ATTEST:
Brian Bingman
Secretary of State
1 Statewide elected officials may
accomplish their duties pursuant to this Order in the same manner as they
effect other official actions
