                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

DUTIES OF DEPARTMENT; DIRECTOR (§ 2.2-1201)

A. The Department shall have the following duties:

   1. Make recommendations to the Governor regarding the establishment and
   maintenance of a classification plan for the service of the Commonwealth, and
   recommend necessary amendments thereto.

   2. Make recommendations to the Governor regarding the establishment and
   administration of a compensation plan for all employees, and recommend
   necessary amendments thereto.

   3. Design and maintain a personnel information system that shall support the
   operational needs of the Department and of state agencies, and that shall
   provide for the management information needs of the Governor, his secretaries,
   and the General Assembly. The system shall provide at a minimum a roster of
   all employees in the service of the Commonwealth, in which there shall be set
   forth as to each employee, the employing agency, the class title, pay, status
   and such other data as may be deemed desirable to produce significant facts
   pertaining to personnel administration.

   4. Establish and direct a program of employee-management relations designed to
   improve communications between employees and agencies of the Commonwealth.

   5. Establish and administer a system of performance evaluation for all
   employees in the service of the Commonwealth, based on the quality of service
   rendered, related where practicable to specific standards of performance. In
   no event shall workers&#8217; compensation leave affect the total number of
   hours credited during a performance cycle for purposes of calculating
   incentive increases in salary based on such performance evaluations.

   6. Establish and administer a system of recruitment designed to attract high
   quality employees to the service of the Commonwealth. In administering this
   system, applicants shall be rated on the basis of relative merit and
   classified in accordance with their suitability for the various classes of
   positions in the service of the Commonwealth, and a record thereof shall be
   maintained in the open register.

   7. Design and utilize an application form which shall include, but not be
   limited to, information on prior volunteer work performed by the applicant.

   8. Establish and administer a comprehensive and integrated program of employee
   training and management development.

   9. In coordination with the Governor or his designee, develop an online
   training module addressing diversity and cultural competency that shall be
   available for use by all employees and agencies of the Commonwealth. Such
   training module shall include (i) information related to race, ethnicity,
   disabilities, gender, religion, and other protected classes under state law;
   (ii) strategies to create an inclusive and equitable culture; (iii) strategies
   to ensure equity and inclusion in state employee recruitment and hiring; and
   (iv) strategies to ensure that state employees provide equitable, competent,
   and welcoming services to all persons.

   10. Establish and administer a program of evaluation of the effectiveness of
   performance of the personnel activities of the agencies of the Commonwealth.

   11. Establish and administer a program to ensure equal employment opportunity
   to applicants for state employment and to state employees in all incidents of
   employment.

   12. Establish and administer regulations relating to disciplinary actions;
   however, no disciplinary action shall include the suspension without pay for
   more than 10 days of any state employee who is under investigation without a
   hearing conducted either by a level of supervision above the employee&#8217;s
   immediate supervisor or by his agency head.

   13. Adopt and implement a centralized program to provide awards to employees
   who propose procedures or ideas that are adopted and that will result in
   eliminating or reducing state expenditures or improving operations, provided
   such proposals are placed in effect. The centralized program shall be designed
   to (i) protect the identity of the individual making the proposal while it is
   being evaluated for implementation by a state agency, (ii) publicize the
   acceptance of proposals and financial awards to state employees, and (iii)
   include a reevaluation process that individuals making proposals may access if
   their proposals are rejected by the evaluating agency. The reevaluation
   process must include individuals from the private sector. State employees who
   make a suggestion or proposal under this section shall receive initial
   confirmation of receipt within 30 days. A determination of the feasibility of
   the suggestion or proposal shall occur within 60 days of initial receipt.

   14. Develop state personnel policies and, after approval by the Governor,
   disseminate and interpret state personnel policies and procedures to all
   agencies. Such personnel policies shall permit an employee, with the written
   approval of his agency head, to substitute (i) up to 33 percent of his accrued
   paid sick leave, (ii) up to 100 percent of any other paid leave, or (iii) any
   combination of accrued paid sick leave and any other paid leave for leave
   taken pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. &#xA7;
   2601 et seq.). On and after December 1, 1999, such personnel policy shall
   include an acceptable use policy for the Internet. At a minimum, the
   Department&#8217;s acceptable use policy shall contain provisions that (i)
   prohibit use by state employees of the Commonwealth&#8217;s computer equipment
   and communications services for sending, receiving, viewing, or downloading
   illegal material via the Internet and (ii) establish strict disciplinary
   measures for violation of the acceptable use policy. An agency head may
   supplement the Department&#8217;s acceptable use policy with such other terms,
   conditions, and requirements as he deems appropriate. The Director of the
   Department shall have the final authority to establish and interpret personnel
   policies and procedures and shall have the authority to ensure full compliance
   with such policies. However, unless specifically authorized by law, the
   Director of the Department shall have no authority with respect to the state
   grievance procedures.
   				14a. Develop state personnel policies, with the approval of the Governor,
   that permit any full-time state employee who is also a member of the organized
   reserve forces of any of the armed services of the United States or of the
   Virginia National Guard to carry forward from year to year the total of his
   accrued annual leave time without regard to the regulation or policy of his
   agency regarding the maximum number of hours allowed to be carried forward at
   the end of a calendar year. Any amount over the usual amount allowed to be
   carried forward shall be reserved for use only as leave taken pursuant to
   active military service as provided by &#xA7; 2.2-2903.1. Such leave and its
   use shall be in addition to leave provided under &#xA7; 44-93. Any leave
   carried forward for the purposes described remaining upon termination of
   employment with the Commonwealth or any department, institution or agency
   thereof that has not been used in accordance with &#xA7; 2.2-2903.1 shall not
   be paid or credited in any way to the employee.
   				14b. Develop state personnel policies that provide break time for nursing
   mothers to express breast milk. Such policies shall require an agency to
   provide (i) a reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for
   her nursing child after the child&#8217;s birth each time such employee has
   need to express the breast milk and (ii) a place, other than a bathroom, that
   is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public
   and that may be used by an employee to express breast milk. Such break time
   shall, if possible, run concurrently with any break time already provided to
   the employee. An agency shall not be required to compensate an employee
   receiving reasonable break time for any work time spent for such purpose. For
   purposes of this subdivision, &#8220;reasonable,&#8221; with regard to break
   time provided for nursing mothers to express breast milk, means a break time
   that complies with the guidance for employers in assessing the frequency and
   timing of breaks to express breast milk set forth in the U.S. Department of
   Labor&#8217;s Request for Information RIN 1235-ZA00, 75 Federal Register 80073
   (December 21, 2010).

   15. Ascertain and publish on an annual basis, by agency, the number of
   employees in the service of the Commonwealth, including permanent full-time
   and part-time employees, those employed on a temporary or contractual basis,
   and constitutional officers and their employees whose salaries are funded by
   the Commonwealth. The publication shall contain the net gain or loss to the
   agency in personnel from the previous fiscal year and the net gains and losses
   in personnel for each agency for a three-year period.

   16. Submit a report to the members of the General Assembly on or before
   September 30 of each year showing (i) the total number of full-time and
   part-time employees, (ii) contract temporary employees, (iii) hourly temporary
   employees, and (iv) the number of employees who voluntarily and involuntarily
   terminated their employment with each department, agency or institution in the
   previous fiscal year.

   17. Administer the workers&#8217; compensation insurance plan for state
   employees in accordance with &#xA7; 2.2-2821.

   18. Work jointly with the Department of General Services and the Virginia
   Information Technologies Agency to develop expedited processes for the
   procurement of staff augmentation to supplement salaried and wage employees of
   state agencies. Such processes shall be consistent with the Virginia Public
   Procurement Act (&#xA7; 2.2-4300 et seq.). The Department may perform contract
   administration duties and responsibilities for any resulting statewide
   augmentation contracts.

   19. In coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human Resources or his
   designee, develop an online training module addressing safety and disaster
   awareness, which shall be incorporated into existing mandatory training.

B. The Director may convene such ad hoc working groups as the Director deems
appropriate to address issues regarding the state workforce.

HISTORY: 1976, c. 761, § 2.1-114.5; 1978, cc. 844, 845; 1979, c. 482; 1980, c.
198; 1988, c. 208; 1989, c. 254; 1992, c. 424; 1993, c. 561; 1994, cc. 17, 954;
1997, c. 856; 1999, c. 384; 2000, cc. 66, 633, 657, 697; 2001, c. 844; 2002, c.
780; 2003, cc. 685, 789; 2005, c. 386; 2006, c. 474; 2008, c. 576; 2012, cc.
803, 835; 2019, c. 280; 2020, c. 548; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 4.