Amended in Senate June 1, 2015

Amended in Senate April 7, 2015

Senate Bill No. 644

Introduced by Senator Hancock

February 27, 2015

An act to amend Sections 19240, begin insert 19241, end insert 19242, and 19242.2 of, and to add begin delete Section end delete begin insert Sections 19241.5, 19242.05, and end insert 19242.3 to, the Government Code, relating to state employment.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 644, as amended, Hancock. Limited Examination and Appointment Program: persons with developmental disabilities.

Existing law requires the Department of Human Resources to administer the Limited Examination and Appointment Program (LEAP) to provide an alternative to the traditional civil service examination and appointment process to facilitate the hiring of persons with disabilities in the state civil services. Existing law authorizes the department to conduct competitive examinations to determine eligibility for appointment under LEAP and requires the department to refer the names of eligible applicants who meet the minimum qualifications of a job classification to the appointing powers for examination appointments, as specified.

This bill would preclude an examination for a person with a developmental disability from including a written examination or readiness evaluation and would, instead, require that the competitive examination consist of an internship with a state agency that is not less than begin delete 1,024 end delete begin insert 512 end insert hours in duration and require the department to refer the names of eligible applicants who successfully complete the internship to the appointing powers for examination appointments. begin insert The bill would require the department to create that internship program in coordination with the State Department of Developmental Services and the Department of Rehabilitation, as specified. end insert The bill would begin delete also end delete authorize a state agency that provides the internship or appoints a person with a developmental disability to a position under LEAP to allow that person to receive on-the-job support and finance the internship or position with personnel funds begin insert or other available funds end insert assigned to a vacant or unfilled position, as begin delete specified. end delete begin insert specified, but would provide that on-the-job support services are not the financial or programmatic responsibility of any state agency engaged in establishing the LEAP internship process. The bill would specify that LEAP is not a mandate on any state agency employer or job applicant except to the extent specifically directed by the State Personnel Board. end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a)  begin delete Individuals end delete begin insert Persons end insert with developmental disabilities have to
struggle to find gainful employment. Statewide unemployment
among people with developmental disabilities of working age is
approximately 90 percent.

(b) According to begin delete California’s end delete begin insert the end insert Employment Development
Department, the average annual earnings of employed begin delete individuals end delete
begin insert persons end insert with developmental disabilities is approximately five
thousand five hundred dollars ($5,500).

(c) Within the community of people with developmental
disabilities, people diagnosed with autism are the fastest growing
population, making up approximately 50 percent of the annual
new caseload of regional centers in some areas of the state.

(d) Seven years after exiting the K-12 school system, one in
three adults with autism still does not have paid work experience
or a college or technical education.

(e) Nationally recognized employment internship training
models like Project SEARCH have demonstrated that many people
with developmental disabilities can be successfully employed in
jobs that earn a living wage.

(f) The key elements of successful programs like Project
SEARCH are:

(1) The opportunity for people with developmental disabilities
to be exposed to real work through internships.

(2) The opportunity for people with developmental disabilities
to receive on-the-job customized training and support during
internships.

(3) The opportunity for employers, in an internship setting, to
experience firsthand the quality of work of begin delete an individual end delete begin insert a person end insert
with a developmental disability.

(g) The existing state hiring process for people with disabilities,
known as the Limited Examination and Appointment Program, or
LEAP, is not well suited to correctly assess the qualifications and
abilities of many people with developmental disabilities because
it relies on written testing as an assessment tool and is not
performance based. As a result, very few people with
developmental disabilities are represented in the state workforce.

(h) The Governor and the Legislature must address the lack of
access people with developmental disabilities have to employment
opportunities with the State of California and take steps to become
a “model employer” to demonstrate the potential of this untapped
workforce.

(i) In enacting this measure, the Legislature intends to create
more access to state employment for people with developmental
disabilities by allowing successful internship performance in a
state agency, in lieu of a written test, to serve as meeting the
minimum qualifications for consideration for hire into an
entry-level position with the State of California. The Legislature
further intends to grant flexibility to state agencies to hire persons
with developmental disabilities who meet specific needs of those
agencies into entry-level positions without requiring those persons
to be able to perform the full range of tasks typically required by
the entry-level job classification.

(j) The Legislature intends that these model employer practices
be targeted at people with developmental disabilities who are
between 18 and 30 years of age and are deemed eligible by the
Department of Rehabilitation to receive supported employment
services. If this population is left without purposefully designed
pathways to employment, these young adults will remain at a high
risk of public dependency throughout the course of their lives.

SEC. 2.  

Section 19240 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

19240.  

(a) The department, consistent with board rules, shall
be responsible for the administration of the Limited Examination
and Appointment Program. This program shall provide an
alternative to the traditional civil service examination and
appointment process to facilitate the hiring of persons with
disabilities in the state civil service.

(b) For purposes of this article, the following terms have the
following meanings:

begin delete

(1) “Disability” has the definition set forth in Section 12926,
as that section presently reads or as it subsequently may be
amended.

end delete begin delete

(2)

end delete

begin insert (1) end insert  “Developmental disability” has the definition set forth in
Section 4512 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

begin insert

(2) “Disability” has the definition set forth in Section 12926,
as that section presently reads or as it subsequently may be
amended.

end insert begin insert

(3) “LEAP” means the Limited Examination and Appointment
Program implemented and administered by the department
pursuant to this chapter.

end insert begin delete

(3)

end delete

begin insert (4) end insert  “Person with a developmental disability” means a person
who the State Department of Developmental Services deems
eligible for services pursuant to the Lanterman Developmental
Disabilities Services Act (Division 4.5 (commencing with Section
4500) of the Welfare and Institutions Code) and who is a consumer
of a regional center pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with
Section 4620) of the act.

(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), if the definition of
“disability” used in the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 (Public Law 101-336) would result in broader protection of
the civil rights of begin delete individuals end delete begin insert persons end insert with a mental or physical
disability, as defined in subdivision (b), then that broader protection
shall be deemed incorporated by reference into, and shall prevail
over conflicting provisions of, the definition in subdivision (b).
The definition of “disability” contained in subdivision (b) shall
not be deemed to refer to or include conditions excluded from the
federal definition of “disability” pursuant to Section 511 of the
federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec.
12211).

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 19241 of the end insert begin insert Government Code end insert begin insert is amended to
read: end insert

19241.  

The department, consistent with board rules, shall be
responsible for the implementation of this chapter, which may
provide for the establishment of eligibility criteria for participation,
special job classifications, examination techniques, begin insert the creation
of a LEAP internship program for persons with developmental
disabilities in coordination with the State Department of
Developmental Services and the Department of Rehabilitation, end insert
and appointment and appeals procedures.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 4. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 19241.5 is added to the end insert begin insert Government Code end insert begin insert , to
read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 19241.5. end insert   

This chapter establishes the Limited Examination
and Appointment Program as a voluntary, additional method of
applying for state employment and is not a mandate on any state
agency employer or job applicant except to the extent specifically
directed by the board.

end insert

begin delete SEC. 3. end delete
begin insert SEC. 5. end insert   

Section 19242 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

19242.  

(a) The department or its designee shall conduct
competitive examinations to determine the qualifications and
readiness of persons with disabilities for state employment. The
examinations may include an on-the-job-performance evaluation
and any other selection techniques deemed appropriate.

(b) (1) The department or its designee shall not require a person
with a developmental disability to take or pass a written
examination or readiness evaluation in order to qualify for service
in a position under the Limited Examination and Appointment
Program. The competitive examination of a person with a
developmental disability shall consist of both of the following:

(A) Successful completion of an internship with a state agency
of at least begin delete 1,024 end delete begin insert 512 end insert hours in duration.

(B) Certification by the state agency that the employee has
completed the internship and has demonstrated the skills,
knowledge, and abilities necessary to successfully perform the
requirements of the position.

(2) A person with a developmental disability who successfully
completes the begin delete examination end delete begin insert internship end insert required by this subdivision
is deemed to meet the minimum qualifications, as determined by
the board, for the position in which the internship was performed.

(c) Examination results may be ranked or unranked.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 6. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 19242.05 is added to the end insert begin insert Government Code end insert begin insert , end insert immediately following Section 19242 begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 19242.05. end insert   

(a) The LEAP internship program created in
accordance with Section 19241 shall be designed to allow persons
with developmental disabilities to meet the minimum qualifications
of the LEAP classification to which he or she seeks an examination
appointment. The length of a LEAP internship shall be for a
minimum period of 512 working hours.

(b) A person with a developmental disability who successfully
completes a LEAP internship upon certification by the appointing
power shall be considered as meeting the referral requirements
necessary to be eligible for an examination appointment, as
specified in Section 19242.2, without being required to pass a
written examination or readiness evaluation.

(c) The LEAP internship program may be accessed as an unpaid
or paid internship if the state agency providing the internship has
available funding authority within its personnel budget.

end insert

begin delete SEC. 4. end delete
begin insert SEC. 7. end insert   

Section 19242.2 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

19242.2.  

(a) The department or its designee shall refer the
names of persons with disabilities who meet eligibility criteria for
participation and the minimum qualifications of the job
classification and any other requirements deemed appropriate by
the board to appointing powers for examination appointments.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and to provide for
appropriate job-person placement, all candidates meeting referral
requirements shall be eligible for examination appointment. The
department may prescribe the method for referring names to
appointing powers.

(b) (1) The department or its designee shall refer the names of
persons with developmental disabilities to appointing powers for
selection for participation in an internship examination as set forth
in subdivision (b) of Section 19242.

(2) The department or its designee may refer the names of
persons with developmental disabilities who have successfully
completed an internship examination to appointing powers for
consideration for appointment in the same job classification as the
position in which the applicant successfully completed his or her
internship.

(3) The department may prescribe the method for referring
names to appointing powers, including, but not limited to, working
with the appointing power to identify positions that could
successfully be filled by persons with developmental disabilities.

begin delete SEC. 5. end delete
begin insert SEC. 8. end insert   

Section 19242.3 is added to the Government Code, to
read:

19242.3.  

(a) A state agency that provides an internship to a
person with a developmental disability or appoints a person with
a developmental disability to a position under the Limited
Examination and Appointment Program may finance the internship
or position with personnel begin insert or any other end insert funds begin insert available for this
purpose and end insert assigned to a vacant or unfilled position. A state
agency that transfers funds from a vacant or unfilled position
pursuant to this section does not eliminate the vacant or unfilled
position, and may return or assign funds to fill the position.

(b) (1) A state agency that provides an internship to a person
with a developmental disability or appoints a person with a
developmental disability to a position under the Limited
Examination and Appointment Program shall allow the person to
receive on-the-job begin delete support end delete begin insert support, as determined by the
Department of Rehabilitation or the State Department of
Developmental Services pursuant to existing rules and the service
authorization of those supported employment programs, end insert as a
reasonable accommodation for the person’s disability.

(2) On-the-job supportive services, in addition to the services
set forth in subdivision (q) of Section 4851 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, may consist of, but need not be limited to, time
spent with a job coach on any of the following:

(A) Conducting job analysis, specific training, and supervision
of the intern while the intern is engaged in his or her internship.

(B) Conducting skills building training, including, but not
limited to, adaptive functional and social skills training and support
as necessary to ensure internship adjustment.

(C) Working with families and other support networks to ensure
internship adjustment.

(D) Evaluation of performance of the intern, including, but not
limited to, communication with the internship supervisor.

(3) The services of the job coach are not the responsibility of
the state agency providing the internship, unless the agency is
otherwise the direct payor of those services.

(4) In order for the internship to meet the minimum
qualifications of the desired position, the internship shall be
successfully completed, as set forth in subdivision (b) of Section
19242, in the same job classification as the position the individual
is applying for.

(5) If a job examination period is required prior to the permanent
hiring of a qualified individual with a developmental disability,
the appointing authority may apply some or all of the internship
hours performed to meet some or all of the job examination period
requirement.

begin insert

(6) On-the-job supportive services are allowable to the extent
authorized by other state programs and are not the financial or
programmatic responsibility of any state agency engaged in
establishing the LEAP internship process.

end insert