Questions raised over civil service jobs

• By MARSHA SHULER
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Nov 20, 2008 - Page: 1A - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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As a state employee hiring freeze looms, the state Civil Service Commission insisted Wednesday on more information about why some political jobs are necessary.

Since Gov. Bobby Jindal took office in January, the commission has signed off on more than 100 unclassified positions — many new, others required approvals to keep the jobs.

Disaster recovery units account for 49 new jobs and economic development efforts another 15 new unclassified slots.

Unclassified employees can be hired and fired at will. Civil service employees are shielded from politics and enjoy job protection.

Like some commission members, Burl Cain, the state employee representative, questioned why several of the jobs being sought had to be unclassified.

“I just don’t understand it,” said Cain, who also is the warden at Louisiana State Penitentiary.

The commission sidetracked three requests from state executives but signed off on four others, including a director of intergovernmental relations position in Secretary of State Jay Dardenne’s office.

Commission approval was required to continue the director’s job, which Dardenne said Wednesday he plans to fill after the first of the year.

State Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek’s office withdrew requests for two new politically appointed positions. Civil Service staff had given interim 60-day approval pending commission signoff. The time ran out Wednesday.

Pastorek already had named former state Rep. Don Trahan, of Lafayette, as the $110,000-a-year director of external affairs and Leslie Blevins as a $65,000-a-year executive assistant.

Pastorek said he pulled the requests because he had identified vacant unclassified jobs and moved Trahan and Blevins into them. They keep the same salaries.

Pastorek had been under fire from former Board of Elementary and Secondary Education president Linda Johnson for hiring practices. Trahan’s surprise hiring prompted Johnson to ask Pastorek for salary information on all unclassified department employees.

Trahan becomes head of the regional education service centers with the retirement of the prior director,  Pastorek said.