1. (a) Purpose. The purpose of this rule is to establish eligibility criteria for authorizing custodial officer certification and hazardous duty pay to employees of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (hereinafter, Agency), under the authority of the Texas Government Code, §§659.062, 811.011, 813.506, and 815.505; and the General Appropriations Act. In accordance with these provisions and in keeping with the responsibilities of the Board, this rule relating to custodial officer certification and hazardous duty pay applies effective June 1, 1998.

2. (b) Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this rule, shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

   1. (1) Custodial Officer Certification--Service certification to the ERS for those employees whom the Agency has determined are eligible for service credit as a custodial officer, which provides an additional one-half (0.5) percent retirement incentive when such employees have 20 or more years service credit as a custodial officer.
   2. (2) Inmate/Defendant Contact--When an employee's job assignment requires regularly planned contact with, and in the close proximity to, inmates/defendants without the protection of bars, doors, security screens, or similar devices. Such assignments normally involve supervision or the potential for supervision of inmates in inmate housing areas, educational or recreational facilities, industrial shops, kitchens, laundries, medical areas, agricultural shops or fields, or in any other areas on or away from Agency property.

3. (c) Procedures.

   1. (1) An employee who was receiving custodial officer certification and hazardous duty pay on August 31, 1985, shall continue to receive custodial officer certification and be paid hazardous duty pay, provided he or she remains in the same position held on August 31, 1985. A change in position, whether by promotion or otherwise, except by reclassification or title change required by the Legislature or State Classification Officer, to a position that does not qualify for custodial officer certification and hazardous duty pay provisions in accordance with this rule shall cause the employee to become ineligible for such certification and pay.

   2. (2) Custodial Officer Certification. In addition to those employees described in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the following employees are eligible for custodial officer certification:

      1. (A) all persons classified as Correctional Officer I through Warden, including Training Officers and Special Operations Reaction Team Officers;
      2. (B) all other employees assigned to work on a unit/facility and whose job requires routine inmate/defendant contact. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: Farm Managers, Livestock Supervisors, Maintenance Foremen, Shop Foremen, Medical Assistants, Food Service Supervisors, Stewards, Education Consultants, Commodity Specialists, and Correctional Counselors;
      3. (C) employees assigned to positions in administrative offices whose job requires routine inmate/defendant contact at least 50% of the time. Supervisors of such positions must provide documentation explaining how inmate/defendant contact time shall be recorded and maintained in order to justify custodial officer certification. Examples of such positions include, but are not limited to, the following: Investigators, Compliance Monitors, Accountants routinely required to audit unit/facility operations, Sociologists, Interviewers, Classification Officers, and Supervisor Counselors;
      4. (D) employees in administrative positions whose jobs require response to emergency situations involving inmate/defendants. Examples include: the Executive Director, Deputy Director, Institutional Division Director, some Assistant Directors, and not more than 25 Administrative Duty Officers.

   3. (3) Hazardous Duty Pay Authorized Positions. In addition to the employees described in paragraph (1) of this subsection, employees in the following positions may receive hazardous duty pay:

      1. (A) employees in positions authorized for custodial officer certification;
      2. (B) employees and officials of the Parole Division who have routine direct contact with inmates of any penal or correctional institution or with administratively released prisoners subject to the jurisdiction or the supervision of the Parole Division.
   4. (4) The Agency shall file a report annually with the Governor's Office and the Legislative Budget Office indicating the numbers and position titles of employees authorized to receive hazardous duty pay.

Source Note:The provisions of this §151.51 adopted to be effective April 8, 1996, 21 TexReg 2476; amended to be effective June 9, 1998, 23 TexReg 5989.