CODESP - Cooperative Organization for the Development of Employee Selection Procedures Classification and Compensation Systems Questions and Answers Flashcards

A CODESP classification analyst is reviewing a position whose incumbent spends 40% of time on duties from a higher class and 60% on duties of the current class. What is the correct classification action?

Answer: Retain the current classification because the majority of duties fit it

Classification is determined by the preponderance (majority) of duties; since 60% of duties align with the current class, the position should remain as classified.

Which compensation principle holds that employees performing equal work should receive equal pay, regardless of personal characteristics?

Answer: Internal equity

Internal equity ensures that employees doing the same or comparable work within an organization receive equitable pay, eliminating disparities based on non-job factors.

A public agency wants to ensure its salary schedule keeps pace with inflation and labor market changes annually. Which mechanism is most appropriate?

Answer: Cost-of-living adjustment (COLA)

COLAs are periodic, across-the-board salary adjustments tied to economic indices that help salaries keep pace with inflation and market movement.

In position classification, the term 'allocation' refers to:

Answer: Placing a specific position into its appropriate classification

Allocation is the formal act of placing an individual position into the appropriate class based on analysis of its assigned duties and responsibilities.

A 'salary compression' problem in a public agency most commonly occurs when:

Answer: New hire salaries approach or exceed those of experienced employees

Salary compression happens when market-driven starting salaries rise faster than existing employees' pay, narrowing the gap between new and tenured staff.

Which method of job evaluation assigns points to compensable factors such as skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions to determine a position's relative worth?

Answer: Point-factor method

The point-factor method scores each compensable factor on a scale and totals the points to produce an objective numeric measure of a job's internal worth.

Under civil service classification rules, an 'out-of-class' assignment occurs when:

Answer: An employee temporarily performs duties of a higher classification

An out-of-class assignment means an employee is temporarily working in a higher-level classification, which may entitle them to additional pay under many civil service rules.