(a) An alternate is an employee who is temporarily assigned to perform duties above the employee's regular classification. An alternate may be temporarily assigned under the following circumstances:
(1) To replace an employee who is off for any reason;
(2) To fill a vacant position pending the making of a provisional or permanent appointment;
(3) To temporarily supplement the staffing level authorized in the budget;
(4) To provide training opportunities and credit as prescribed by the education and training program.
(b) The employee within the unit standing highest on the competitive eligible list for the classification that is to be filled alternately shall have the right to be temporarily assigned. If there is no employee within that unit on the competitive eligible list, then the temporary assignment shall be given to the employee from within that Division standing highest on the eligible list. In the case of a noncompetitive list, it shall be the most senior employee within the unit or Division on said list for Local 7 positions and one of the three (3) most senior for Local 2058 positions. If there is no employee within that Division, then the following procedure shall be used.
(c) For alternate appointments to Local 7 positions, the employee with the most unit seniority in the next lower classifi cation within that unit with the demonstrated ability to perform the work of the classification, shall have the right to be temporarily assigned to the position until an eligibility list is established. The employee will be presumed to have the demonstrated ability to perform in the classification for purposes of this section if the employee meets the minimum requirements for the position. If the employee does not meet the minimum requirements, the employee will still be appointed if they satisfactorily demonstrate to division management their ability to perform in the position. Said demonstration may be by way of a competency exam and/or a demonstration period. If there is no eligible employee willing to accept the appointment within the immediate lower classification, then the employee with the most unit seniority with the demonstrated ability to perform the work in the next lower classification within that unit shall have the right to be temporarily assigned to that position and so forth until no employee willing to accept the appointment within that unit is eligible for the temporary assignment.
If there is no eligible employee(s) willing to accept the appointment within that unit, the employee willing to accept the appointment with the most classification seniority with the demonstrated ability to perform the work within that Division, in the next lower classification, shall have the right to be temporarily assigned to that position until an eligibility list is established. If there are no eligible employees willing to accept the appointment within the immediate lower classification, the employee with the most classification seniority willing to accept the appointment and with the demonstrated ability to perform the work in the next lower classification shall have the right to be temporarily assigned to that position and so forth until no employee within that Division is eligible for the temporary assignment.
(d) For alternate appointments to Local 2058 positions:
(1) In the absence of an eligibility list, the employee who is determined most qualified to do the work from among the three (3) most senior employees willing to accept the position in the next lower classification in the unit shall have the right to be appointed alternately to that position. If there is no eligible employee within the immediate lower classification, the employee determined most qualified to do the work from among the three (3) most senior employees willing to accept the position in the next lower classification shall have the right to be appointed alternately to that position and so forth until there are no employees within that unit eligible for appointment.
(2) If there are no eligible employees within that unit, the employee who is determined most qualified from among the three (3) employees willing to accept the position with the most classification seniority within that Division, in the next lower classification, shall have the right to be appointed alternately to that position. If there is no eligible employee within the immediate lower classification, one of the three (3) employees willing to accept the position with the most classification seniority within the Division in the next lower classification, shall have the right to be appointed alternately to that position and so forth until no employees within that Division are eligible for appointment.
(3) In selecting alternate appointees, consideration shall be given to seniority, experience, work record/performance, attendance, disciplinary record, education/training, and demonstrated ability to perform the job. Employees bypassed for selection more senior to the employee selected shall be informed of the reason(s) they were not selected by the person making the selection. They may appeal the determination to the Department of Human Resources for a final determination as to the adequacy of the reason(s) for the bypassing. Said appeal must be filed within three (3) work days of notification of the bypassing.
(4) For an employee to be qualified for consideration for appointment to a Local 2058 position under this section, the employee must meet the minimum requirements for the classifi cation.
(e) The employee initially selected as the alternate shall continue to serve for the period that the division determines an alternate appointment is necessary, unless: the alternate is selected for an alternate appointment to a higher classification; or an employee with greater seniority returns who is qualified and interested.
(f) When an employee is worked as an alternate, the employee shall be paid at the alternate rate of the position worked for a single compensated day off, providing the employee worked in the alternate position for three (3) of the five (5) work days immediately preceding the single compensated day off. The employee shall be paid at the alternate rate of the position worked for more than a single compensated day off, providing the employee worked in the alternate position for six (6) of the ten (10) work days immediately preceding the compensated days off.
(g) For purposes of selection of alternates to serve in Local 2058 bargaining unit positions, “unit” as used in this section shall be the applicable Local 7 work unit.
(h) When an employee repeatedly refuses alternate appoint ments, they may be removed from the alternate list after written notification has been given to the employee and the responsible Union Steward stating the just cause for removal. The employee may only be reinstated at the written request of the employee and responsible Union Steward, with the written request including justification for the requested reinstatement.