256.10 Employment of professional staff.

1. The salary of the director shall be fixed by the governor within a range established by the general assembly.

2. Appointments to the professional staff of the department shall be without reference to political party affiliation, religious affiliation, sex, or marital status, but shall be based solely upon fitness, ability, and proper qualifications for the particular position. The professional staff shall serve at the discretion of the director. A member of the professional staff shall not be dismissed for cause without appropriate due process procedures including a hearing.

3. The director may employ full-time professional staff for less than twelve months each year, but such staff shall be employed by the director for at least nine months of each year. Salaries for full-time professional staff employed as provided in this subsection shall be comparable to other professional staff, adjusting for time worked. Salaries for professional staff employed for periods of less than twelve months shall be paid during each month of the year in which they are employed on the same schedule as full-time permanent professional staff. The director shall provide for and the department shall pay for health and dental insurance benefits for twelve months each year for the full-time professional staff employed as provided in this subsection, and the health and dental insurance benefits provided shall be comparable to the benefits provided to all other professional staff employed by the director.

86 Acts, ch 1245, §1410; 97 Acts, ch 212, §21; 2002 Acts, ch 1140, §6

Referred to in §256.9