1218 - Additional Appointments (Historical View)

** Effective: 12/1/2025 3:51:18 PM - Present **

Status: Active

Change Notes

contact update

Category

Appointments

Audience List

Synopsis

This policy

Introduction

The term “additional appointment” is used when a civil service employee is appointed concurrently to more than one position within state service. All additional appointments must be approved by the Personnel Management Division (PMD) of the Department of Human Resources (CalHR) before a department makes such an appointment. Approval will only be provided if there is a mission critical need, and all other alternatives are shown to be unfeasible.

This policy provides guidance on the additional appointment process and how to ensure compliance with civil service laws and rules.

Statement

The “primary appointment” is the initial appointment held by the employee or the permanent appointment with the highest time base. The additional appointment is any appointment made in addition to the primary appointment.

Note: Under certain circumstances, an additional position may be considered the “primary appointment” for purposes of compensation and benefits tracking, however, for the purpose of attaining preapproval from CalHR, the department that seeks to make the chronologically subsequent appointment is responsible for seeking CalHR approval.

All additional appointments are subject to the same civil service laws and regulations that govern all other civil service appointments. This includes, but is not limited to, laws and regulations pertaining to advertising, recruitment, selection, list appointments, transfers, reinstatements, promotions, demotions, probationary periods, and discipline.

Generally, CalHR will only grant rank-and-file employees’ additional appointments. Additional appointments shall not be made for managers and supervisors absent a declared emergency situation.

Department Human Resources Office Responsibilities

Prior to extending an offer of employment, the appointing power must verify whether the candidate currently holds a civil service appointment. If the candidate does, the appointing power must verify with the candidate if they intend to leave their current appointment, or whether they are requesting an additional appointment. Note: Departments should explain to such candidates that receiving approval from CalHR is limited to specific circumstances.

Prior to extending a formal job offer for an additional appointment, including retired annuitants, departments must obtain approval from PMD. Departmental requests for an additional appointment should include a justification memorandum, current and proposed duty statements, current and proposed organizational charts, and any supporting documentation. If approved by PMD, the requesting department will need to inform the employees’ primary department.

Prior to requesting approval from CalHR, departments must consider other alternatives to meet staffing needs, such as:

Work Week Group 2 Employees

Employees in WWG 2 are covered by the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and are entitled to receive overtime compensation. WWG 2 employees may either be represented or excluded from collective bargaining. WWG 2 employees may be eligible for an additional appointment regardless of the collective bargaining identifier (CBID), if all conditions are met, as follows:

Employees with a primary and additional appointment that are represented by differing bargaining units are subject to the respective terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) applicable to each position.

Work Week Group E and SE Employees

Employees in WWG E are exempt from the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime compensation requirements. Employees in WWG SE are employed as attorneys, physicians or teachers. Employees in these professions are also exempt from the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime compensation requirements under specific provisions of the Learned Professional Exemption.

In most instances, additional appointments are not permissible for WWG E or SE employees except as provided for within the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for Units 16 and 19.

Additional appointments shall not be made for managers and supervisors in WWG E or SE positions absent a Governor-declared emergency situation following the pre-approval process above.  As members of the management team, employees in supervisory and managerial classifications can reasonably be expected for limited periods of time to fulfill a wide range of assignments as needed to help the department function smoothly, without being provided additional compensation. Departments may not request additional appointments for managers and supervisors in an effort to compensate them for extra hours.

In the rare instance that a department is granted approval from CalHR to provide a WWG E manager or supervisor an additional appointment, departments must be aware that the employee can lose their FLSA exemption status and be subject to overtime if more than 50 percent of their worktime is spent performing non-exempt functions. Departments in this circumstance must make every effort to avoid an outcome where an employee’s FLSA exemption status is lost, and the employee becomes subject to overtime.

Note: These requirements do not apply to WWG SE employees practicing law or medicine. An employee holding a valid license permitting the practice of law or medicine is exempt if the employee is actually engaged in such a practice.

Bargaining Unit 16 and 19 Employees

Per the Bargaining Unit 16 and 19 MOUs, the State may appoint eligible permanent full-time employees to an additional appointment to fill advertised vacancies or when management determines additional workload needs to be met. These appointments also must be approved by PMD before the employee is offered the position.

Application

Unless otherwise approved by PMD, and with the exception of retired annuitant appointments (which must have an R tenure), all additional appointments must be processed into the State Controller’s System as temporary appointments with a tenure of limited-term and a time-base of intermittent. Regardless of the number of intermittent appointments the employee holds, their total hours worked in all intermittent appointments shall not exceed the annual limit of 1500 work hours as defined by California Code of Regulations, title 2, Section 265.1.

Upon approval of an additional appointment, both appointing powers must communicate at least once each pay period. This communication should include the sharing of time sheets and any changes to the employee’s rate of pay. This will ensure employees are compensated correctly.

When both positions are less than full-time, both appointing powers must coordinate to ensure the employee does not earn more than full-time leave accruals. If the employee is full-time in their primary position, the employee will not earn additional leave credits, nor be able to use leave credits in their additional appointment.

Employees are not entitled to more than eight (8) hours of paid time off for holidays. In instances where the primary position is full-time, the employee is not eligible for paid holidays in the additional appointment.  If the employee works on a holiday, applicable MOU provisions apply.

Compensation For Work Week Group 2 Employees

Employees who hold one or more WWG 2 positions receive their regular rate of pay up to 40 hours for each work week, and overtime thereafter. The regular and overtime rate of pay is calculated using the rate of pay in effect when the employee starts working the hours. This means the employee is paid the rate of pay as established by the position for which they are performing duties.

In most instances employees are not eligible for premium overtime until the employee has physically worked 40 hours in a single work week. For represented employees, refer to the applicable MOU to determine straight and premium overtime eligibility and refer to Government Code section 19853, subdivision (d) for employees excluded from bargaining. The overtime hours that are not premium in a work week are paid at the straight rate for each position.

In instances where working in the additional appointment creates overtime in the primary appointment, departments can seek reimbursement from the department where the additional appointment is held.  

Compensation For Work Week Group E/SE Employees

In the rare instance that an employee whose primary appointment is WWG E or SE is approved for an additional appointment, the additional appointment is established with a time base of intermittent. Intermittent employees are paid hourly, regardless of the classification’s WWG. Intermittent WWG E employees may be eligible to receive overtime. Intermittent SE employees receive their regular rate of pay for all hours worked. Hours worked in the additional appointment must not change a WWG E employee’s FLSA exemption, therefore, the employee may not work more than 49 percent of the total hours in the additional/intermittent position. Working more than 49 percent of the hours in the additional/intermittent position will cause the employee to lose the FLSA exemption status of their primary appointment and is not permissible.

Pay Differentials

Except for retired annuitants, employees may be eligible for pay differentials in their primary and additional appointments if they meet the criteria for the pay differential. In all instances, the employee may not receive a pay differential for more than one full-time rate. Where applicable and outlined in the specific pay differential, the pay differential compensation will be included in the overtime rate of pay calculation for straight and premium overtime performed in the position that earns the pay differential.

Garnishments and Accounts Receivables

Wages from all appointments can be used to satisfy employee garnishments and accounts receivable. Thus, if a garnishment or accounts receivable are not satisfied by the employee’s wages from the primary appointment, the remaining will be deducted from the wages of the additional appointment.  

Leave and State Service Accruals

Employees shall not accrue more than one month of State Service or one full-time leave accrual for each qualifying pay period. If the primary appointment has a time base of less than full-time, the hours worked in the additional/intermittent appointment shall be combined, not to exceed one full-time leave accrual or state service month for each qualifying pay period. For instance, if the employee’s primary position has a time base of half-time, the employee will accrue a half month of State Service, and their leave accruals will be based on their time base in the primary position. If the employee also has an additional intermittent position, the employee will earn leave but cannot accrue more than they would have as a full-time employee.

Where leave is earned in both positions, the departments must coordinate and ensure the correct amount of leave is deducted and accrued. Departments must audit the employees’ leave balances once each year during the anniversary month of the additional appointment. The employee may use accrued leave in any position where leave is earned.

Benefit Eligibility

Benefit eligibility is based on the primary appointment. If the primary appointment is not a full-time appointment, then hours worked from all appointments are used to determine benefits eligibility. Benefits options are based on the primary appointment’s available benefit options and applicable MOU. Wages from all appointments can be used to pay the employee’s share of benefit premiums.

Authorities

Resources

Not Applicable.

Authorized By

Melissa Russell
Chief, Personnel Management Division

Contact Person

Personnel Management Division Personnel Management Division
Personnel Management Consultant, , Personnel Management Division
Phone: 916-909-3709
Fax: 916-327-1886
Email: pmd@calhr.ca.gov

Superseded Policies

Not Applicable.