This law section is known as the County Civil Service Enabling Law, which means it establishes the legal foundation or permission for creating and managing civil service systems within counties.

This law section states that it does not restrict any powers that are already given to counties by their charters or to county boards of supervisors according to the California Constitution.

This law is designed to allow counties the flexibility to create their own civil service systems that fit their specific needs and characteristics.

This law allows a county's board of supervisors to make agreements with other counties, cities, state departments, or qualified individuals or agencies. These agreements are for conducting tests to determine if job applicants are suitable and for handling other tasks related to hiring and managing personnel.

This law allows counties in California to create their own civil service system for county workers. However, elected officials are not included in this system.

This law section means that before a civil service system can be officially adopted by the county, it must first be approved by the majority of voters in the county. This approval is sought through a 'yes' or 'no' vote at a general or special election. Essentially, the community gets to decide if the county should implement the proposed civil service system.

This law states that any civil service ordinance in a county that was voted on and approved by a majority of voters before the law took effect is officially validated and confirmed. These ordinances are considered legally adopted, even if there were any mistakes or issues in how they were adopted or approved.

This section confirms and legally validates any county ordinance about adopting or changing civil service systems that were approved by voter elections before this law went into effect. Even if there were errors or mistakes in the voting process, those ordinances are still considered valid and legally binding as if they were perfectly passed and approved according to legal standards.

This law requires that when a new civil service system is set up, there must be an ordinance specifying which appointed officers and employees will be included in the system.

This law section establishes that the minimum qualifications or standards for any job position cannot be lower than the qualifications set by the Legislature for county officers and employees holding similar positions.

This law outlines how public employees in classified civil service can be dismissed, suspended, or demoted. Firstly, any such action must come with a written order stating the reasons and filed appropriately. The affected employee can respond in writing within 10 days, and they also have the right to appeal the decision within 7 days. The appeal goes to the civil service commission, which must start a hearing within 20 days and can confirm, change, or cancel the original decision. The commission's decision is final and must be carried out by the department head.

Alternatively, an ordinance or resolution can allow employees to appeal through a grievance procedure outlined in an agreement with their recognized employee organization, which may include binding arbitration.

When a county adopts a civil service system, the board of supervisors must appoint a civil service commission to help manage it.

This law allows a county to create a rule that decides how much members of the civil service commission get paid for attending meetings. The rule can also cover their travel expenses to and from these meetings, but only if the meetings are inside the county.

This law allows a county to pass an ordinance giving its civil service commission, or a similar body, the authority to issue subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum, which means they can legally require people to testify or produce documents. They can also decide on payments for people who are subpoenaed.

This power should only be used for matters the commission has the right to deal with, and it doesn't extend to the commission's committees. The ordinance may allow the commission to pay reasonable fees or expenses to witnesses, no matter who called them.

Subpoenas must be signed by the commission's chairman or secretary. Any commission member or authorized person can swear in or take affirmations from witnesses appearing before the commission.

The civil service commission should have either five or seven members, depending on a decision by the board of supervisors. Each member serves a four-year term until a replacement is appointed. Members are chosen from those eligible to vote in the county. If there's a vacancy, the board of supervisors will appoint someone to complete the term. The commission can also be called a merit board.

This law section outlines how the terms of office are determined for the first civil service commission members. For a five-member commission, terms are staggered at one, two, three, and four years. If the commission has seven members, terms are assigned by lot: two members serve one year, two serve two years, two serve three years, and one serves four years. The members will randomly decide the order in which their terms expire.

This law section says that the commission has certain responsibilities and authority as outlined in this part of the law. Additionally, the board of supervisors can assign more duties and powers to the commission related to its work.

This law makes it a misdemeanor if someone intentionally tries to cheat or interfere with the process of applying for a county job. This includes lying about exam results, helping others cheat, or giving out secret information to affect someone's job chances, either positively or negatively.

This California law makes it illegal to impersonate someone or help someone else impersonate in connection with any civil service examination, application, or request in a county. It also prohibits providing or obtaining examination materials in advance and using unfair methods to force someone to give up their civil service rights. Committing any of these actions is considered a misdemeanor.

If a county employee or someone on a county employment list uses unauthorized materials for training or target practice during work hours, they will face disciplinary actions according to the county's civil service rules.

This law allows counties in California to use their funds to pay for travel expenses of job applicants who are being interviewed or tested for county positions. The travel expenses can be covered for applicants coming from anywhere in the continental United States. However, the board of supervisors must first determine that this spending is necessary to attract qualified candidates for positions that are hard to fill.

If you had a permanent job in a county's civil service and left it to take on an elected position, you can return to your old job once your term is over. This is possible if you didn't take a break between jobs and don't try to get re-elected for that position.