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Amend the Civil Engineer (Entry) and Civil Engineer - Environmental (Entry) and retitle the classifications to Engineer Assistant and Engineer Assistant - Environmental.
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HUMAN RESOURCES' RECOMMENDATION:
The Human Resource Department recommends that the Civil Service Commission approve amendments to the Civil Engineer (Entry) and Civil Engineer - Environmental (Entry) classification specifications and the new titles of those classification specifications to Engineer Assistant and Engineer Assistant - Environmental.
SUMMARY:
The County proposed amendments to the titles of the Civil Engineer (Entry) and Civil Engineer - Environmental (Entry) classification specifications are in accordance with the Professional Engineers Act effective January 1, 2019 (Business Code §§ 6700-6799). The format and language have been updated to the standard format and language for classification specifications. Slight revisions were made regarding job duties to ensure duties are accurate to those performed in those classifications.
DISCUSSION:
The County is proposing to amend the titles of the Civil Engineer (Entry) and Civil Engineer - Environmental (Entry) classification specifications in accordance with the Professional Engineers Act effective January 1, 2019 (Business Code §§ 6700-6799). “Section 6732. Use of seal, stamp, or title by unlicensed persons; titles restricted for use by licensed persons - It is unlawful for anyone other than a professional engineer licensed under this chapter to stamp or seal any plans, specifications, plats, reports, or other documents with the seal or stamp of a professional engineer, or in any manner, use the title “professional engineer,” “licensed engineer,” “registered engineer,” or “consulting engineer,” or any of the following branch titles: “agricultural engineer,” “chemical engineer,” “civil engineer,” “control system engineer,” “electrical engineer,” “fire protection engineer,” “industrial engineer,” “mechanical engineer,” “metallurgical engineer,” “nuclear engineer,” “petroleum engineer,” or “traffic engineer,” or any combination of these words and phrases or abbreviations thereof unless licensed under this chapter.” Section 6787 states that it is a misdemeanor violation of California State Law to use a restricted title or a title that could misrepresent the person’s license status.
Civil Engineer (Entry) and Civil Engineer - Environmental (Entry) require an Engineer-In-Training certificate, but do not required a Registered Professional Engineer License. Consequently, the titles of those classifications can no longer contain “civil” in the title since it would be misleading that the individual would have a Registered Professional Engineer License. In review of the classification specifications of surrounding public agencies that are comparable in minimum qualifications and job duties, the title of Engineer Assistant was most prominent. Therefore, the new proposed titles are Engineer Assistant and Engineer Assistant - Environmental.
The classifications were updated to include standard formatting and language to the current classification specification formatting and standard language. There have been some very slight revisions to the duties to bring them in line with the current job duties performed in the classifications. There have been no changes to the minimum qualifications.
Attached are copies of the current classifications, the add/delete versions, and proposed class specifications.
ALTERNATIVES:
The Civil Service Commission could elect not to approve the proposed class specification amendments. However, this is not recommended as this would put the County in violation of the Professional Engineers Act.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
Human Resources worked with staff from the Resource Management Department in revising the class specifications. On May 15, 2019, the County notified SEIU of the County’s intent to retitle and modify the existing classifications. The Union did not respond to the County’s invitation to meet and confer.