HARAHAN, La. — In your Ballot Box Breakdown: Jefferson Parish Voters will be asked to decide on a possible Home Rule Charter amendment this election, which deals with the administrative organization of the parish.
First, some background:
The Parish has a few categories of employees.
“Classified employees” make up most parish government jobs. Their appointments, promotions, and firings are outlined by a specific set of rules.
Some of those classified employees are considered “special non-competitive limited term” (or SNCLT) employees. They work in parish councilmembers’ offices or the parish president’s office. They are hired at-will, but protected from dismissal until the end of the elected official’s term.
There are also “unclassified employees” – known sometimes as ‘at-will’ employees – like the Chiefs of Staff and administrative aides, who are subject to more traditional hiring and firing rules than classified employees.
The amendment on the ballot seeks to convert those “special non-competitive limited term” employees into “unclassified” or “at-will” jobs.
The question on your ballot will say this:
“Should the Jefferson Parish Charter be amended to include within the unclassified service any at-will employees hired to work directly in the office of the Parish President or Parish Council member, by adding Section 4.0(a) (8) to the Jefferson Parish Charter to read as stated in Section 1of Jefferson Parish Ordinance No. 26767 adopted April 17, 2024?
A vote of ‘yes’ will allow SNCLT employees to choose to be re-categorized as “at will” employees. New hires in the president and council members’ offices will automatically be “at will” employees.
This will allow those employees to engage in political campaigns and activities and to serve more directly under the authority of the councilmember or parish president they work for. It also means they can be let go without due process, unlike classified employees.
This was brought forth by Councilmember Jennifer Van Vrancken in April and passed unanimously by the Parish Council.
Now you get to cast your vote beginning this Friday.
