County Social Services Board’s Authority in Personnel Matters

Subject:

Requested By: W. A. Holland, Jr., Esquire Counsel for the Johnston County Department of Social Services

Question: May a county board of social services appoint itself as an appeal body to hear and rule upon employee grievances, where this duty has not been authorized by the board of county commissioners?

Conclusion: No.

The facts underlying this question are as follows. The county social services board wishes to hear appeals from personnel decisions made by the county social services director. The board proposes to adopt procedures for that purpose. The local board of county commissioners has not authorized such an activity by the social services board.

The General Statutes show that the county board of social services cannot undertake this responsibility. First, as a general rule, local social services employees are part of the state personnel system.

"The provisions of this Chapter [126] shall apply to all State employees not herein exempt, and to employees of local social services departments . . . which receive federal grant-in-aid funds. . . ."

G.S. 126-5(a).

However, local officials may establish local rules and local personnel systems, "to the extent that local governing boards are authorized by the State" to do so. G.S. 126-1.

In accordance with the provisions just quoted, G.S. 126-11 reads as follows:

"The board of county commissioners of any county which shall establish and maintain a personnel system for all employees of the county subject to its jurisdiction, which system is found from time to time by the State Personnel Commission to be substantially equivalent to the system established under Article 1 of his Chapter for employees of local welfare departments, public health departments, and mental health clinics, may include employees of these local agencies within the terms of such systems. Employees covered by that shall be exempt from the provisions of Article 1 of this Chapter."

To that end, the General Statutes say,

"When a board of county commissioners adopt rules and regulations governing annual leave, sick leave, hours of work, holidays and the administration of the pay plan for county employees generally and the county rules and regulations are filed with the State Personnel Director, the county rules will supercede the rules adopted by the State Personnel Commission as to the county employees otherwise subject to this Chapter."

G.S. 126-9(a).

Summing up these statutes, we see that social services employees are subject to the provisions of the State personnel plan unless the board of county commissioners makes changes.

Turning to the social services statutes, we find that the county director of social services has the duty "to appoint necessary personnel of the county department of social services in accordance with the merit system rules of the State Personnel Commission." G.S. 108A-14. The county board of social services has no statutory authority in personnel matters except to appoint the county director in accordance with the State merit system. G.S. 108A-9(1)

Therefore, in light of these statutes, the social services board cannot confer upon itself the authority which the Johnston County Board wishes to exercise. To do so would violate G.S. 108A-14. Also, it would supplant the authority vested in the county commissioners by G.S. 126

11.

For the foregoing reasons, we believe that the General Statutes prevent the Johnston County Board of Social Services from constituting itself as a review panel to review personnel decisions made by the local county director of social services.

RUFUS L. EDMISTEN Attorney General

Steven Mansfield Shaber Assistant Attorney General