2-18-101. Definitions. As used in parts 1 through 3 and part 10 of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
     (1) "Agency" means a department, board, commission, office, bureau, institution, or unit of state government recognized in the state budget.
     (2) "Anniversary date", except as modified in part 3 of this chapter, means the month and day on which an employee began the most recent period of uninterrupted state service.
     (3) "Base salary" means the amount of compensation paid to an employee, excluding:
     (a) state contributions to group benefits provided in 2-18-703;
     (b) overtime;
     (c) fringe benefits as defined in 39-2-903; and
     (d) the longevity allowance provided in 2-18-304.
     (4) "Board" means the board of personnel appeals established in 2-15-1705.
     (5) "Class" means one or more positions substantially similar with respect to the kind or nature of duties performed, responsibility assumed, and level of difficulty so that the same descriptive title may be used to designate each position allocated to the class, similar qualifications may be required of persons appointed to the positions in the class, and the same pay rate or pay grade may be applied with equity.
     (6) "Class series benchmark" means a representative position within a class series that is used to illustrate the application of the job evaluation factors that are used to classify positions in the classification plan. A benchmark description describes the duties and responsibilities assigned and the factors applied to the class series benchmark.
     (7) "Class specification" means a written descriptive statement of the duties and responsibilities characteristic of a class of positions and includes the education, experience, knowledge, skills, abilities, and qualifications necessary to perform the work of the class.
     (8) "Compensation" means the annual or hourly wage or salary and includes the state contribution to group benefits under the provisions of 2-18-703.
     (9) "Department" means the department of administration created in 2-15-1001.
     (10) Except in 2-18-306, "employee" means any state employee other than an employee excepted under 2-18-103 or 2-18-104 from the statewide classification system.
     (11) "Entry salary" means the entry-level base salary for each grade provided in 2-18-312.
     (12) "Grade" means the number assigned to a pay range within a pay schedule in part 3 of this chapter.
     (13) "Job sharing" means the sharing by two or more persons of a position.
     (14) "Market ratio" means an employee's base salary divided by the market salary for the employee's pay grade.
     (15) "Market salary" means the midpoint in a pay grade provided in 2-18-312, based on the average base salary that other employers pay to employees in comparable occupations as determined by the department's salary survey of the relevant labor market.
     (16) "Permanent employee" means an employee who is designated by an agency as permanent and who has attained or is eligible to attain permanent status.
     (17) "Permanent status" means the state an employee attains after satisfactorily completing an appropriate probationary period.
     (18) "Personal staff" means those positions occupied by employees appointed by the elected officials enumerated in Article VI, section 1, of the Montana constitution or by the public service commission as a whole.
     (19) "Position" means a collection of duties and responsibilities currently assigned or delegated by competent authority, requiring the full-time, part-time, or intermittent employment of one person.
     (20) "Program" means a combination of planned efforts to provide a service.
     (21) "Seasonal employee" means a permanent employee who is designated by an agency as seasonal, who performs duties interrupted by the seasons, and who may be recalled without the loss of rights or benefits accrued during the preceding season.
     (22) "Short-term worker" means a person who:
     (a) is hired by an agency for an hourly wage established by the agency;
     (b) may not work for the agency for more than 90 days in a continuous 12-month period;
     (c) is not eligible for permanent status;
     (d) may not be hired into another position by the agency without a competitive selection process; and
     (e) is not eligible to earn the leave and holiday benefits provided in part 6 or the group insurance benefits provided in part 7.
     (23) "Temporary employee" means an employee who:
     (a) is designated as temporary by an agency for a definite period of time not to exceed 12 months;
     (b) performs temporary duties or permanent duties on a temporary basis;
     (c) is not eligible for permanent status;
     (d) is terminated at the end of the employment period; and
     (e) is not eligible to become a permanent employee without a competitive selection process.

     History: Ap.p. Sec. 1, Ch. 440, L. 1973; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 488, L. 1977; Sec. 59-903, R.C.M. 1947; Ap.p. Sec. 1, Ch. 563, L. 1977; Sec. 59-915, R.C.M. 1947; R.C.M. 1947, 59-903(1), (2), (part(3)), (4), (5), 59-915; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 512, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 678, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 421, L. 1981; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 684, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 720, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 455, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 339, L. 1997.