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Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has proposed some changes to the state’s hiring and firing procedures for state employees. Her hope is to motivate and retain good employees while having the ability to remove those who “are not upholding the public will and trust.”
While the proposal is still in the development stages, the Arizona Capital Times reports that it would make changes to the state’s so-called merit system. Currently, the majority of state workers have appeal rights and other job protections in the event of layoff.[1] The article suggests the administration is proposing to eliminate these provisions to make firing poor performing employees easier.
Brewer spokesman Paul Senseman cites a report from the Phoenix-based Goldwater Institute which concludes that appeal rights and other protections make it costly and time-consuming to discipline and terminate public employees in Arizona. Firing workers due to blatant misconduct, like sleeping on duty, threatening co-workers, falsifying documents or sexual harassment is still very difficult and costly because of the amount of paperwork involved.[2]
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Arizona on Sunshine Review
