Law on Municipal Administrative Career

The purpose of this Law is to create the personnel administration system for municipalities, municipal associations, intermunicipal associations, micro-regional entities, and other municipal entities created by Municipal Corporations and ascribed to this system, in order to guarantee service efficiency, promote professionalization and stability of municipal employees based on merit.

This Law is applicable to permanent personnel of Municipalities and other municipal entities ascribed to the system.

The following employees are excluded from the Municipal Administrative Career:

• 1)

  Authorities elected to hold positions of popular election;

• 2)

  Advisors, consultants, members of boards, councils, commissions, committees, and other similar collegial bodies that do not have another permanent official function;

• 3)

  Personnel contracted for the execution of a specific work, project, or service of a temporary nature;

• 4)

  Persons providing technical or specialized services by virtue of a special contract;

• 5)

  Persons providing services on an interim basis, except those who hold prior appointment and belong to the Municipal Administrative Career;

• 6)

  Personnel of confidence to the Municipal Mayor; and,

• 7)

  Daily wage employees.

The application of this Law shall be governed by the following principles:

• 1)

  Legality;

• 2)

  Objectivity;

• 3)

  Responsibility;

• 4)

  Impartiality;

• 5)

  Professionalism;

• 6)

  Efficacy;

• 7)

  Efficiency;

• 8)

  Vocation for service; and, 9) Equality in the different subsystems. TITLE II ORGANIZATION OF THE MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE CAREER CHAPTER I BODIES AND COMPETENCIES

The Municipal Corporation has the following powers:

• 1)

  Create, modify, and suppress positions in the Municipal Administrative Career;

• 2)

  Approve the Manual of Classification of Positions and the Salary Structure in accordance with general guidelines prepared by the Technical Secretariat of the Municipal Administrative Career;

• 3)

  Set the compensation of municipal employees within the ranges proposed by the Technical Secretariat of the Municipal Administrative Career and the Municipal Categorization;

• 4)

  Approve the Annual Plan for Human Resources Management;

• 5)

  Approve positions of confidence proposed by the Mayor, with their corresponding characteristics and compensation;

• 6)

  Approve special regulations and manuals for the development of this Law;

• 7)

  Hear appeals against sanctions imposed by the Municipal Mayor; and,

• 8)

  Any other powers attributed in the text of this Law or by other complementary legal provisions.

The Mayor is the highest authority in the administration of personnel under his appointment and, as such, is responsible for its direction in accordance with the procedures established in this Law, and particularly, has the following powers:

• 1)

  Appoint permanent personnel and contract temporary and interim personnel;

• 2)

  Impose sanctions on personnel for the commission of infractions;

• 3)

  Authorize the transfer of municipal employees according to the needs of services;

• 4)

  Approve the promotion of personnel in service of the Municipality;

• 5)

  Grant permits and leaves to personnel; and,

• 6)

  Any other powers attributed to him in this Law and all those that, being proper functions of the Municipality in this matter, have not been expressly assigned to another body. The Mayor's powers in this matter, except for appointments, signing of contracts, and the imposition of disciplinary sanctions, may be delegated to other bodies or administrative units.

The administration of personnel of other institutions ascribed to the system, referred to in Article 1 of this Law, shall be the responsibility of the bodies determined by their respective statutes.

For the correct application of this Law and its regulations and, in general, for the management of human resources and public employment in Municipalities, the Technical Secretariat of the Municipal Administrative Career (SETCAM) is hereby created, as the principal normative, support, coordination, and legal and technical advisory body serving Municipalities and other municipal entities ascribed to the system. SETCAM is ascribed to a Board of Directors as the body for direction and supervision of the administrative career system, composed of five (5) Municipal Mayors representative of the four categories of municipalities plus one member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Municipalities of Honduras (AMHON), all of them designated by the National Assembly of Mayors at the proposal of the Board of Directors of the Association of Municipalities of Honduras (AMHON). SETCAM shall be directed by a Director and a team of specialists in human resources management, selected from candidates with recognized experience in the field and who demonstrate their merit and ability in a public competition procedure, under the responsibility and supervision of the Board of Directors, which body shall also have the power to appoint them to the exercise of their positions. These positions shall be classified as career positions and may only be removed for just cause. The Regulation of this Law must establish the scope of the functions and powers of SETCAM. CHAPTER II ORGANIZATIONAL INSTRUMENTS

Municipal budgets must include the payroll of positions or catalog of positions corresponding to the respective annual fiscal year, whether these are permanent, temporary, or contract positions, at-will appointments or other categories as provided in the provisions of this Law and other regulatory provisions. Named positions may be occupied or vacant.

The General Manual of Classification of Positions is the instrument by which Municipalities organize the set of available work positions according to the needs of services; as well as the designation and essential characteristics of positions, the competency profiles required for their performance, the requirements and procedures for entering service, as well as the requirements demanded for their performance. The General Salary Structure shall be composed of the definition of the hierarchy corresponding to the categories, classes, or positions, according to their complexity.

Every Municipality must have an Annual Plan for Human Resources Management, in which the following shall be established:

• 1)

  Provisions regarding modification of organizational structures and work positions;

• 2)

  Provision and, where applicable, suspension and incorporation of personnel to a work sector of the Municipality;

• 3)

  Measures of forced mobility;

• 4)

  Specific training and capacity-building courses;

• 5)

  Specific plans for provision of work positions;

• 6)

  Specific measures for internal promotion;

• 7)

  Provision of part-time services; and,

• 8)

  Other provisions that proceed in accordance with its objectives and budget availability. TITLE III GENERAL CLASSIFICATION OF PERSONNEL SINGLE CHAPTER FUNCTIONS OF PERSONNEL

Personnel referred to in this Law must perform the functions assigned to them according to the nature and description of the position.

Employees or servers subject to the Municipal Administrative Career are those who are legitimately appointed for the performance of permanent compensated services, a circumstance that binds them to a Municipality or entity ascribed to the system.

Interim personnel are those who, by virtue of contracting and for reasons of necessity and urgency, duly justified such as illness, leave, or suspension that determine the interim vacancy, provided that performance by permanent employees is not possible. Interim personnel contracts shall have a duration not exceeding one year except in cases of exception established by the Regulation of this Law.

The termination of personnel contracted temporarily, once the period has been completed or the work or service for which they were contracted has ended, and interim personnel when the holder of the position ceases, in no case generates the right to indemnification. Performance of these services does not constitute merit for internal promotion.

OTHER TYPES OF PERSONNEL. Personnel of free appointment and removal or contracted personnel, firefighting services personnel, municipal police personnel, and temporary contracted personnel shall be governed by regulatory provisions and by their respective contracts.

EMPLOYEES PAID BY HOURLY SHIFT SHALL BE REGULATED BY THE LABOR CODE. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if one of said workers in the system assumes a position by Municipal Agreement within the same Municipality or entity, their work seniority must be recognized from the beginning of their employment relationship as a worker paid under the hourly shift system.

CLASSIFICATION OF PERMANENT EMPLOYEES. Permanent municipal employees are integrated into Occupational Groups, Categories, Classes and Specific Positions and other modalities that may be adopted through technical standards, manuals or regulatory provisions. SETCAM must approve said standards. TITLE IV ACQUISITION AND LOSS OF THE CONDITION OF PERMANENT EMPLOYEE. ADMINISTRATIVE SITUATIONS CHAPTER I ACQUISITION AND LOSS OF THE CONDITION OF PERMANENT EMPLOYEE

ACQUISITION OF THE CONDITION OF PERMANENT EMPLOYEE. To enter the Municipal Administrative Career the following is required:

• 1)

  To be Honduran, over eighteen (18) years of age and in the enjoyment of civil rights. However, those who have reached sixteen (16) years of age may enter the Administrative Career system with prior written authorization from their legal representatives, or in the absence thereof, by the municipal mayors of the district where they must provide their services;

• 2)

  To be current in the payment of municipal taxes or to be exempt from them;

• 3)

  To accredit good conduct;

• 4)

  To meet the special conditions required for the position;

• 5)

  To have passed competency or opposition examinations of background in accordance with the requirements established in this Law;

• 6)

  To have obtained the respective appointment; and,

• 7)

  To have successfully completed the probationary period. Non-compliance with these requirements gives rise to the nullity of the appointment agreement, without prejudice to the responsibility of the persons who participated in the process that gave rise to it.

LOSS OF THE CONDITION OF PERMANENT EMPLOYEE. The permanent employee loses their condition for any of the following causes:

• 1)

  Resignation;

• 2)

  Dismissal;

• 3)

  Retirement;

• 4)

  Permanent incapacity;

• 5)

  Death;

• 6)

  Civil interdiction;

• 7)

  Final conviction sentence for crimes; and, 8) Cessation. Dismissal due to unjustified and unwarranted cessation is prohibited and must be justified on objective grounds; mere change of government or the occurrence of circumstances or decisions of exclusive discretionary judgment are not in themselves sufficient causes to justify it.

ADMINISTRATIVE CAREER IN OTHER MUNICIPAL ENTITIES. Permanent employees of inter-municipal territorial instances such as: Associations of Municipalities and other local or micro-regional entities ascribed to the system must comply with the same entry requirements and the same causes for loss of permanent employee status established in this Law shall apply to them; however, the dissolution of the Association of Municipalities, Association or entity ascribed to the system is a cause of cessation. The termination of personnel whose positions are funded with common funds of the entity must be made prior to payment of the corresponding indemnification. When the position of the terminated server is financed by a municipality, it is the municipality that is responsible for paying the respective indemnifications or reintegrating the server to the position, as established in the respective statute. Budgetary incapacity caused by the withdrawal of one or more members of the associative entity may be a cause of cessation of those permanent employees who lack budgetary support. In any case, termination must be made in accordance with the provisions of this Law and the Regulations. CHAPTER II ADMINISTRATIVE SITUATIONS

ADMINISTRATIVE SITUATIONS. Permanent employees in the service of the Municipalities and entities ascribed to the system may be in any of the following administrative situations:

• 1)

  Active service;

• 2)

  Special services;

• 3)

  Cessation or forced retirement; and,

• 4)

  Suspension of functions.

ACTIVE SERVICE. Active service is the occupation by an employee of a permanent position with budgetary allocation. Servers in the situation of active service have all the rights, duties and responsibilities inherent to their condition.

SPECIAL SERVICES. Permanent servers may be declared in the administrative situation of special services when:

• 1)

  They perform functions or carry out missions for more than six (6) months in international organizations, foreign governments or public entities or in international cooperation programs;

• 2)

  They occupy positions of popular election;

• 3)

  During the time they are temporarily serving voluntary military service or in other organizations with purposes of general interest to meet the needs of national defense; and,

• 4)

  In other cases established in this Law. Permanent servers in the situation of special services shall have the right to reserve the position they occupy, for a period not exceeding four (4) years non-extendable and the time they remain in this situation must be recognized for purposes of internal promotion. Said servers have no right to compensation.

CESSATION. Permanent servers whose positions have been declared canceled by Municipal Agreement must move to the situation of cessation or forced retirement, prior to a motivated report and with a hearing of the interested parties, as a consequence of forced reduction of personnel, outsourcing of services, restructuring of departments, technological or budgetary innovations, to achieve efficient management and administrative organization, provided that by means of a ruling that has binding effects from SETCAM it is accredited that the function performed is not necessary, and the Institution must give a maximum notice of two (2) months. In the case referred to in this Article, the person in cessation must be indemnified with the payment of one month of salary for each year of service rendered up to a maximum of years equal to that established at the state level for similar cases, without prejudice to the rights corresponding to the affected server in the concept of benefits.

SUSPENSION OF FUNCTIONS. The permanent employee must be declared in the situation of suspension of functions when so determined by the competent authority or body, as a consequence of the instruction against them of a judicial process for the Commission of Crimes. The suspension shall cease when the suspended party obtains a final sentence declaring them innocent, in which case the corresponding remuneration and other rights enjoyed by employees in the situation of active service shall be recognized. Suspension resulting from disciplinary sanction may not exceed two (2) months. During this period the server has no right to any compensation. TITLE V PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION UNIQUE CHAPTER RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION OF PERSONNEL

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF PERSONNEL SELECTION. Municipalities must select their personnel in accordance with the principles of equality, suitability and efficiency, through internal, mixed or external competition. The selection procedure must be inspired by the following principles:

• 1)

  Publicity of the calls;

• 2)

  Transparency in the management of the procedure;

• 3)

  Specialization of the selection bodies;

• 4)

  Guarantee of impartiality of the selection bodies;

• 5)

  Reliability and validity of the selection tests; and,

• 6)

  Efficiency and agility in the development of the selection procedure, without prejudice to respect for all the rights and guarantees of the applicants. Vacancies whose external coverage is considered necessary and which cannot be filled by existing personnel resources must be the subject of a Public Employment Competition Announcement, without prejudice to their temporary coverage. The General Regulations of this Law must regulate these personnel situations.

ADMISSION OF PERSONS WITH PHYSICAL, SENSORY DISABILITY OR OTHER SUBJECT TO SOCIAL EXCLUSION. For the purpose of enabling persons with disabilities to access the system, in the announcement of public employment for positions, a quota must be reserved to be filled with persons who present official certification of their disability and who participate in the selective process. The reserve quota for disabled persons must be agreed upon by the respective municipal authority, without prejudice to what is established in special laws. In the selection processes, adaptations necessary in time and means must be established for persons with disabilities who request them to carry out selective tests under conditions of equality. Likewise, and to guarantee the social integration of other sectors subject to social exclusion, similar quotas may be reserved according to the recommendation of the Technical Secretariat of the Municipal Administrative Career.

PERMANENT PERSONNEL SELECTION COMMISSION. Each Municipality or entity ascribed to the system must organize a Permanent Personnel Selection Commission which must be regulated by the General Regulations of this Law.

APPOINTMENT AND ACCESS TO WORK POSITIONS. Upon conclusion of the selective process and the probationary period of the applicant, which may not exceed two (2) months, applicants who pass must be appointed permanently by the Municipal Mayor or by the appointing authority of the corresponding entity. Appointments must be communicated to the Technical Secretariat of the Municipal Administrative Career for purposes of their inclusion in the General Registry of Municipal Personnel.

SELECTION, APPOINTMENT AND TERMINATION OF INTERIM PERSONNEL. The hiring of interim personnel may only be carried out for the reasons provided in this Law, when the provision of the service cannot be performed by permanent employees. Such hiring shall always have an interim character and its termination occurs when the causes that motivated it disappear. Interim personnel must meet, in any case, the requirements of the position.

SELECTION OF INTERIM AND CONTRACT PERSONNEL. In the selection of interim personnel and by contract, the principles of equality, merit and capacity must be applicable. TITLE VI MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE CAREER. ASSIGNMENT OF POSITION AND MOBILITY. EVALUATION CHAPTER I MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE CAREER

CONCEPT AND ELEMENTS OF THE MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE CAREER. The Municipal Administrative Career of the employee consists of progression through the various categories, classes and positions, according to the modalities of organization of the position structure of each Municipality or entity enrolled in the system. Progression in the Municipal Administrative Career must be based on the evaluation and experience acquired by the performance of positions, as well as on seniority and performance evaluation.

PROGRESSION BETWEEN POSITION CATEGORIES. Progression to a position of a category superior to the one held shall be effected on the occasion of vacancies in the same. Annually or by periods, the existing vacancies in the different position categories must be published. In these vacancies, Municipal Administrative Career employees and first-entry applicants who meet the requirements may participate. CHAPTER II ASSIGNMENT OF POSITIONS AND MOBILITY

REMOVAL FROM POSITION. Permanent employees who access another work position may be removed for causes arising from an alteration in the content of the position, based on the Position Classification Manual, which modify the factors and requirements that served as the basis for the notice of vacancy or a lack of capacity for its performance manifested by insufficient performance, which prevents effectively carrying out the functions attributed to the position. Removed employees must be reinstated to the position they held before their promotion, without the right to claim compensation for this cause. Removal must be effected after forming a file containing arguments from both parties and by a reasoned resolution from the body that made the appointment.

PROVISION OF POSITIONS BY THE PROCEDURE OF FREE APPOINTMENT. Free appointment is called the procedure for provision of specialist work positions in which these are adjudicated after the assessment of the merits alleged by the candidate in relation to the requirements required for its performance and those others that are considered necessary by the Mayor of the Municipality. Positions of a managerial or special responsibility character may be provided by this system in the cases determined by the Regulation and the descriptions or specifications of the work positions.

APPOINTMENT AND TERMINATION OF FREE APPOINTMENT POSITIONS. The act of appointment must be carried out by the Mayor. Appointments must be made within a maximum period of one month counted from the date of submission of the application by one of the employees. Said period may be extended for only one time without exceeding ten (10) additional days. Appointment resolutions must be motivated with reference to compliance by the selected candidate of the requirements required for its performance. Employees appointed to free appointment work positions may be dismissed at the discretion of said positions but shall have the right to their reinstatement to the position they held in the municipal entity before accessing the free appointment position.

INTERNAL MOBILITY OR TRANSFER. Municipalities and other entities enrolled in the system may transfer their employees, due to service needs, to units, areas or local public bodies different within the same demarcation, respecting their compensation, essential conditions of work and, modifying, where appropriate, the assignment of the work positions of which they are holders.

Municipal employees who were subject to change of service for promotion or change of municipality to reincorporate or return again to an excluded position or being in this re-enter the administrative career, remain subject to this regime in the same Municipality, without this interrupting the seniority of the work relationship, preserving the right to receive the indemnities that in accordance with the Law correspond to them, when they were terminated without just cause. CHAPTER III EVALUATION

BODIES FOR EVALUATION OF PERFORMANCE AND TRAINING AND FORMATION PROCESSES. The General Regulation of this Law must regulate everything concerning the procedures for evaluating the performance of employees of the system. TITLE VII RIGHTS, DUTIES AND OTHER PROVISIONS ON PERSONNEL CHAPTER I DUTIES AND RIGHTS

PROTECTION AND RECOGNITION OF THE DIGNITY OF MUNICIPAL EMPLOYMENT. Municipalities and other entities of the system must protect their personnel in the exercise of their position, must give them the treatment and social consideration according to their hierarchy or the dignity of the public office they hold and shall guarantee the rights established in this Law.

OBLIGATIONS. The obligations of permanent municipal employees are:

• 1)

  To respect and faithfully comply with the Constitution of the Republic, this Law, its regulations and the obligations inherent to their positions;

• 2)

  To perform the position for which they have been appointed, in a regular manner and with the dedication and efficiency required by the nature of it;

• 3)

  To obey the orders and instructions given to them by their hierarchical superiors and to execute the additional work assigned to them, in the interest of public service;

• 4)

  To maintain the necessary reserve and discretion regarding matters related to work and to enhance public administration and the institution in a public servant, through the observance of good conduct within and outside the service;

• 5)

  To maintain in relations with the public the due consideration and respect, so that no justified complaints arise from poor service or lack of attention;

• 6)

  To cooperate in the efficiency of services, the achievement of objectives and compliance with quality standards to which the administrative administration in which they are assigned must be adjusted;

• 7)

  To seek their own professional improvement and, in particular, to strive for the best performance of their professional work and their work capacity and aptitudes. To this end they must participate in professional improvement courses called by the Municipality when their mandatory character is established; and,

• 8)

  To treat with correctness, respect and consideration to colleagues and subordinates and to facilitate their fulfillment of their obligations, providing information and other forms of administrative assistance;

• 9)

  To promote continuity in the good operation of the service, in cases of absence of superiors, colleagues or subordinates;

• 10)

  To comply with the working day and schedule established;

• 11)

  To observe legal and regulatory measures for prevention, health, hygiene and safety at work;

• 12)

  To comply with regulations regarding incompatibilities and to refrain from hearing matters that may imply conflict of interest with the functions performed;

• 13)

  To care for and correctly use the premises, material and documents in their charge, seeking in any case the rationality of the means used, without detriment to the effectiveness of the service; and,

• 14)

  Those others that derive from this Law and from the Code of Ethics of the Public Servant that is applicable to municipal employees and other entities enrolled in the system.

RIGHTS OF PERMANENT EMPLOYEES. Permanent employees protected by this Law and its Regulations shall enjoy the following rights:

• 1)

  To obtain regular and complete payment of their remuneration and other rights acquired in accordance with special laws. In any case, those discounts authorized by the public servants themselves, by the laws or by resolution of the courts of justice may be made;

• 2)

  Permanence in the position and consequently, not to be transferred, demoted or dismissed, without just cause and without observance of the legally established procedure;

• 3)

  To be promoted to positions of greater hierarchy and salaries, after verification of their efficiency, seniority and merits;

• 4)

  Annual paid vacation in accordance with what is established in this Law;

• 5)

  Paid leave for justified reasons such as illness, pregnancy, work accidents, bereavement, marriage, study and training programs, in accordance with what is determined in the respective Regulation;

• 6)

  To enjoy the benefits established by the Social Security Law in the manner determined in the regulations and programs of the respective institutions;

• 7)

  When unjustified dismissal takes effect and the respective condemnatory judgment is final, the worker has the right, at their choice, to compensation in the concept of salaries ceased to be received, as title of damages and to legal and conventionally provided indemnities; or, to be reinstated to work with recognition of salaries ceased to be received, as title of damages;

• 8)

  Retirement when the employee has been incorporated into one of the social security regimes;

• 9)

  To receive fair and respectful treatment in accordance with their personal dignity in the exercise of their position;

• 10)

  In case public servants are terminated or dismissed from their position without just cause, they have the right to payment of vacations, bonuses and severance, complete or proportional as appropriate;

• 11)

  To be reinstated to their position, when having been called to perform military service, they have complied with it and present their discharge certificate within the thirty (30) days following receipt of the same;

• 12)

  To permission with pay to attend assemblies, congresses, work meetings, training courses, as well as to fulfill obligations imposed by Law, commissions related to the Labor Organization to which they are affiliated; and,

• 13)

  Those others established in this Law and its regulations. With the exception of the rights of stability in office and indemnities for termination of the administrative career relationship, the other rights recognized in this Article are also applicable to interim and contract personnel to the extent that the nature of the right permits and as established in the respective contract. In any case, the rights established in this Law may be improved through agreements that may be concluded between the Municipality and the organizations of the employees.

COLLECTIVE RIGHTS OF PERMANENT EMPLOYEES. In the terms established by the Constitution of the Republic, this Law and other legislation that is applicable, permanent employees have the following collective rights:

• 1)

  Free association for the promotion and defense of their economic and social interests;

• 2)

  Petition and participation for the improvement of working conditions;

• 3)

  Meeting outside of working hours; and,

• 4)

  Other rights established by applicable public law.

LABOR REPRESENTATION. Employees of the Municipalities have the right, in pertinent cases, to participate and be represented in petitions and agreements with municipal authorities regarding working conditions. The exercise of such rights is carried out through participation in the bodies in charge of such matters as provided in this Law. The principle of good faith must inspire the agreements and relations between the representatives of the employees and the Municipality or entities enrolled in the system. Agreements must be celebrated by the corresponding administrative body.

PROHIBITIONS. The personnel of the Municipal Administrative Career are prohibited from:

• 1)

  Participating in or developing any type of religious activity, proselytizing or political propaganda in offices, dependencies or public or political buildings or while engaged in service outside of them;

• 2)

  Using real property, personal property or public resources for political, private or any other purposes that do not have direct relationship with the exercise of their functions;

• 3)

  Requesting or accepting any type of gifts, presents or rewards, for themselves or third parties, as compensation for procedures, transactions or expenses inherent to their positions;

• 4)

  Requesting and collecting any type of contributions or fund subscriptions in offices or any other municipal facility or entity of the system to which they provide service;

• 5)

  Taking advantage directly or indirectly of influences to obtain promotions or any other class of privileges;

• 6)

  Approving compensation to subordinate public servants for time not worked without just cause;

• 7)

  Hiring or appointing relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity and the second degree of affinity;

• 8)

  Sexually harassing or intimidating their subordinates, colleagues or co-workers;

• 9)

  Discriminating on the basis of age, sex, race, political or religious creed, marital status or physical disability;

• 10)

  Disposing of or utilizing information previously established as confidential and reserved for purposes other than the proper fulfillment of their administrative function;

• 11)

  Holding two (2) or more remunerated public positions simultaneously, except when providing health assistance or teaching services, provided they do not interfere with the performance of their functions;

• 12)

  Developing any type of private activities or work in public offices or facilities and/or utilizing personnel and material from the same for such purposes;

• 13)

  Participating directly or indirectly in bidding processes or competitions for the execution of works, provision of services or supplies, without prejudice to what is established in the State Contracting Law; and,

• 14)

  Incurring in other prohibitions that in accordance with the Law and its Regulations may be applicable to them.

WORK SCHEDULE. The ordinary work schedule shall not exceed forty-four (44) hours per week, nor can it exceed eight (8) hours per day. Notwithstanding, overtime work may be performed, outside of the ordinary work schedule, which must be compensated according to what is established regulations by the Municipal Corporation. Extraordinary work added to the ordinary schedule cannot exceed eleven (11) hours per day, except in special cases of necessity, qualified by the respective chief and subject to the control procedures established by the Regulation. The General Regulation of this Law must regulate matters related to part-time schedules and the provision of services in extraordinary hours, it being understood that such provisions must be consistent with those enjoyed by the rest of public servants; they shall not be applicable to personnel of free appointment and removal, executive or excluded in this Law. For these positions, the maximum work schedule, dedication and availability must be determined in their contract.

INCOMPATIBILITIES. The servers of the Municipalities and other entities of the system cannot combine their activity in the same with the performance, by themselves or through substitution, of another activity in the public sector or of a private activity, on their own account or on behalf of another, paid or merely honorary, that could prevent or undermine the strict fulfillment of the duties of the official or permanent server, compromise their impartiality or independence or harm the general interests.

HONORS AND DISTINCTIONS. The Municipalities and other entities ascribed to the system may grant to their personnel, based on special regulations, public recognition and distinctions as reward for their initiatives and merits in the performance of their professional duties, with the purpose of promoting efficient service and professional ethics in performance. CHAPTER II PERMITS AND VACATIONS

PAID LEAVE. The municipalities and municipal entities ascribed to the system may grant paid leave according to the conditions established by means of regulation prior to proposal, recommendation or opinion of the Technical Secretariat of the Municipal Administrative Career:

• 1)

  For marriage;

• 2)

  For change of residence;

• 3)

  For fulfillment of an inescapable duty of a public or personal nature, for the time necessary for its fulfillment;

• 4)

  To attend final exams and other definitive evaluation tests in public or private educational centers, duly justified;

• 5)

  For attendance at training and improvement courses related to the service, for the duration of the same;

• 6)

  For reasons of representation, exercise of functions or training of leaders of server associations;

• 7)

  For serious domestic calamity; and,

• 8)

  For mandatory fulfillment of legal duties; and,

• 9)

  Any other cause qualified by the municipal authority prior to the opinion of the respective Municipal Personnel Administrative Unit or of the entity ascribed to the system.

UNPAID LEAVE. Due to particular aspects of the municipal employee, unpaid leave may be granted whenever the needs of the service permit. This leave cannot exceed a period of six (6) months in a period of two (2) years.

OTHER LEAVE. The servers/servers, subject to the system have the right to enjoy leave for reasons of maternity, lactation, marriage, illness and domestic calamity, as well as social security, according to the municipal categorization to be established, and each Municipality and entity ascribed to the system may develop regulatory rules according to the needs and its financial capacity.

ANNUAL VACATIONS. The personnel in the service of local entities included in the scope of application of this Law have the right to enjoy a paid vacation period according to time served, as follows:

• 1)

  Twelve (12) business days in the first three (3) years of service;

• 2)

  Eighteen (18) business days, during the fourth, fifth and sixth year of service;

• 3)

  Twenty-four (24) business days, in the following three (3) years of service; and,

• 4)

  Thirty (30) business days, from the tenth year of service onward. CHAPTER III WAGE SYSTEM

PRINCIPLES OF THE COMPENSATION SYSTEM. The compensation of personnel in the service of the Municipalities shall be adapted to their financial capacity and must be standardized within each municipal category. Personnel compensation must be proportional to the nature, complexity, dedication, requirements, risks, seniority in service and other factors qualified by the competent authorities. Compensation linked to work position conditions must be reviewed every two (2) years in order to determine whether or not the circumstances that gave rise to them persist and must, in the case, be updated or revaluated. The compensation assigned to each position must be of public knowledge. For all effects, the concept of compensation must be the one defined and applied or in force in the central public administration, according to the pertinent regulations.

COMPENSATION OF CONTRACT PERSONNEL. The compensation of contract personnel must be that which is determined in the individual employment contract and in accordance with what is established in the current Municipal Budget.

COMPENSATION DEDUCTIONS. No municipal server has the right to compensation for time not worked without justified cause, deducting the corresponding amount, without prejudice to the disciplinary responsibility in which they may have incurred. The suspension of work without any justification on the part of the servers shall give rise to the deduction of the corresponding compensation, without that, in any case, the deduction can have a disciplinary character nor affect the social benefits regime.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES. Personnel in the service of the Municipalities are responsible for the diligent fulfillment of the functions and tasks assigned to them and for the proper management of the services entrusted to them in accordance with the provisions of this Law, proceeding to resolve by their own initiative the difficulties they encounter in the exercise of their function, without prejudice to the responsibility of their hierarchical superiors. Any act that employees execute outside the Law is null and implies responsibility; in the state obliged to comply with illegal orders or that suppose the commission of a crime, their criminal responsibility is governed by what is provided in the Constitution of the Republic and other laws.

GENERAL PROVISIONS. The Municipalities and other local entities ascribed to this Law must correct disciplinarily the infractions committed by their servers in the exercise of their functions and positions, in the manner established in this Law, with the purpose of achieving the amendment of the server, without prejudice to the legal or criminal distinction that may apply. Only the actions or omissions of the servers that result in responsible and that at the time of occurrence constitute disciplinary infraction can be sanctioned disciplinarily.

CONNECTIONS WITH THE CRIMINAL JURISDICTIONAL ORDER AND CONCURRENCE OF CRIMINAL AND DISCIPLINARY SANCTION. When in the instruction of a disciplinary proceeding it is appreciated that the alleged infraction may be constitutive of a crime or penal fault, the proceeding must be suspended and brought to the attention of the competent authority. The initiation of a criminal proceeding is not an obstacle to the initiation of a disciplinary file for the same facts, but a resolution in this must not be issued until a final judgment or order of dismissal has been issued in the criminal case. In any case, the declaration of proven facts contained in the final disciplinary resolution that terminates the criminal proceeding binds the Municipality or entity ascribed to the system, without prejudice to the different legal qualification that they may deserve in one and the other proceeding.

CONCEPT AND CLASSIFICATION OF DISCIPLINARY INFRACTIONS. The voluntary failure to comply with the duties of the servers established in this Law constitutes an infraction that gives rise to the imposition of the corresponding sanction. Infractions are classified as serious, less serious and minor, in accordance with what is provided by the General Regulation of this Law.

DISCIPLINARY SANCTIONS. The sanctions that may be imposed on public servants are:

• 1)

  Verbal or written reprimand;

• 2)

  Forced change of work position;

• 3)

  Demotion;

• 4)

  Suspension of employment and salary for a period of up to six (6) months in duration; and, 5) Justified dismissal. For the commission of serious infractions, the sanctions of dismissal, suspension of employment and salary for up to six (6) months or demotion may be imposed.

DISMISSAL. Dismissal requires the prior report of the Technical Secretariat of the Municipal Administrative Career and shall only be permitted for the following causes:

• 1)

  For non-compliance or serious violation of the duties or prohibitions established in this Law;

• 2)

  For final conviction to prison sentences for criminal offenses;

• 3)

  For incapacity and inefficiency demonstrated in the performance of the position duly accredited;

• 4)

  For abandonment of the position for three (3) or more consecutive business days without justified cause, or for three (3) or more alternate days in a one-month period;

• 5)

  For the commission of a serious infraction; and,

• 6)

  For any act of violence, insults, slander, mistreatment or serious misconduct in which the public servant incurs during work hours against superiors or colleagues; or outside of work hours, against superiors without prejudice to the right of legitimate self-defense.

SUSPENSION AND OTHER TYPES OF SANCTIONS. Suspension of employment and salary consists of the temporary cessation of the employment relationship without right to any compensation. Demotion consists of lowering the rank within the structure of work positions of the sanctioned person, with the corresponding proportional reduction in compensation. Public servants sanctioned with forced change of work position or tasks shall maintain their rank, but shall not have the right to promotion for a maximum period of two (2) years. Reprimand consists of a verbal or written call to attention by the authority to the offender, which must be recorded in his or her personal file. In all sanctions imposed that suppose a certain period of time, the proportional deduction in the compensation of public servants who fail to comply with working hours and the work schedule must be determined.

PRESCRIPTION OF INFRACTIONS AND SANCTIONS. Serious infractions and their respective sanctions shall be prescribed after four (4) months, less serious infractions after sixty (60) days, and minor infractions after thirty (30) days. The prescription period for infractions shall commence on the day on which it was committed, and from the cessation of its commission in the case of continuing violations. The prescription period shall be interrupted by notification of the agreement initiating the disciplinary proceeding. The prescription period for sanctions shall commence on the date on which the resolution imposing it becomes final or from when compliance with the sanction is breached when its execution has already begun.

ADOPTION OF PROVISIONAL MEASURES. Once the disciplinary proceeding has commenced, provisional measures may be adopted, by means of a reasoned resolution, as deemed appropriate to ensure the effectiveness of the resolution that may be issued and to prevent the effects of the infraction. Provisional measures may not cause irreparable harm to the public servant or violate his or her rights, and must be proportional to the risk to be prevented. Provisional suspension as a precautionary measure may not exceed six (6) months and the time it lasts shall be counted as part of the fulfillment of the sanction.

EFFECTS OF PROVISIONAL SUSPENSION. The public servant in provisional suspension status is not entitled to receive any compensation during the suspension. During the provisional suspension period, officials may not participate in promotion proceedings. When it is declared, by final binding resolution, that the suspension was not warranted, the duration of the suspension shall be counted as active service, and the immediate reinstatement of the public servant to his or her work position shall be ordered, with recognition of all economic rights and others that apply from the date of suspension. TITLE IX SUPPLEMENTARY, TRANSITORY AND FINAL PROVISIONS CHAPTER I SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS

BUDGETARY ALLOCATION. The Technical Secretariat of the Municipal Administrative Career must have a permanent allocated fund for the operating expenses of the Municipal Administrative Career, an instrument that must be identified and agreed upon with the State Secretariat in the Office of Finance at the proposal of the Association of Municipalities of Honduras (AMHON).

SUPPLEMENTARY LAW. In all matters not provided for in this Law, the provisions established in the Civil Service Law and the Law of Municipalities and their respective regulations shall apply supplementarily.

GENDER EQUITY MEASURES IN MUNICIPAL PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT. Gender equity measures for the personnel referred to in this Law shall be subject to regulation by the General Regulation thereof and shall be concerted between the Association of Municipalities of Honduras and the National Institute of Women (INAM).

WORK POSITIONS SHARED AMONG MUNICIPALITIES. Municipalities and other entities ascribed to the system may jointly agree on work positions and share the costs of compensation and professional services thereof, in which case the agreement executed must establish the conditions of hiring, provision of service and social responsibility.

TRAINING PLAN. The Technical Secretariat of the Municipal Administrative Career in collaboration with the Association of Municipalities of Honduras (AMHON) must develop, within the year following the entry into force of this Law, a comprehensive training plan in personnel administration and human resources management directed at those who provide services in the Personnel Administration Units. Likewise, it shall organize seminars directed at the municipalities, the entities ascribed to the system and their public servants with the purpose that they may become acquainted with the scope of the rights and obligations that this Law grants and imposes upon them.

TRANSITIONAL REGIME. Public servants who, on the date this Law enters into force, are providing services in the Municipalities and entities ascribed to the system, except insofar as they incur in infractions that constitute grounds for separation from service or justified dismissal, shall retain the right to remain in their positions until the selection tests are progressively verified in order to incorporate public servants into the system on a permanent basis. Public servants who are laid off by reason of the beginning of the application of this Law shall be paid the benefits and indemnities to which they are entitled.

PROFESSIONALIZATION PROCESSES. To ensure an orderly transition toward a Municipal Administrative Career System, provided that the corresponding budgetary availability exists and does not cause disruption to the proper functioning of the Municipalities, the merit and suitability tests must be specialized within a period of four (4) years, with all public servants who pass the established selective tests being subject to this requirement. Public servants who, upon the entry into force of this Law, are providing services with seniority of more than five (5) years may be incorporated into the Municipal Administrative Career in the category equivalent to the work position they are performing, being exempt from participating in the competition, except for those who have committed serious infractions that have not prescribed.

PROFESSIONAL PROGRESSION PROCESSES. Once the professional qualification process of the municipal employee is completed, the procedures for filling work positions must immediately begin to be called, as well as the review of the classification of positions and salary structures.

REGULATORY DEVELOPMENT. The Executive Branch, through the State Secretariat in the Offices of Governance and Justice, must issue the General Regulation of this Law within a maximum period of six (6) months counted from its entry into force. Until such Regulation enters into force, the norms and agreements approved by the Municipalities for the management of their personnel shall remain in force, to the extent that they do not oppose this Law, counted from the entry into force of this Law.

PROGRESSIVE MEASURES. The processes provided for in Title V of Title V shall be developed while the professionalization of personnel in service to the Municipalities has not been completed. The norms relating to the salary system, provided for in Chapter III of Title VII, shall enter into force progressively, once the professionalization program of personnel in service to each Municipality or entity of the system has been completed and the organizational instruments provided for in this Law have been developed, which must be accomplished within a maximum period of two (2) years. CHAPTER III FINAL PROVISIONS

REPEAL. Decree No. 149-97 dated December 4, 1997, containing the Law of Municipalities, is hereby repealed.

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION SEVERANCE AND RECOGNITION OF RIGHTS FOR MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES. The Municipal Mayors or Mayoresses may, through a selection process, ratify or appoint employees who, at the date this Law enters into force, work in the different departments of the Corporation, in which case they shall retain seniority and other labor rights that correspond to them by law. The selection of said personnel shall be made following a curriculum evaluation, technical evaluation, psychometric evaluation, and performance history review. Employees who were not ratified or hired for failing to qualify in the personnel evaluation related to such selection shall be paid their labor rights that legally correspond to them. Employees who do not accept submitting to the evaluation and who opt for their voluntary retirement shall have the right to recognition and payment of their labor benefits and indemnifications. Municipalities are authorized, with a prior opinion from the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Finance, to process with the National Financial System the financing required to comply with the payment of these rights within the legal term.

EFFECTIVE DATE. This Law shall enter into force twelve (12) calendar months after its publication in the Official Newspaper "La Gaceta", with the exception of what is established in Chapter III of Title VI thereof. However, during said period the Technical Secretariat of the Municipal Administrative Career shall be established. Given in the city of Tegucigalpa, municipality of the Central District, in the Session Hall of the National Congress, on the tenth day of the month of June of one thousand. ALBA NORA GÚNERA OSORIO PRESIDENT, BY LAW RIGOBERTO CHANG CASTILLO SECRETARY GLADIS AURORA LÓPEZ CALDERÓN SECRETARY To the Executive Power Therefore: Let it be executed. Tegucigalpa, M.D.C., June 11, 2010. PORFIRIO LOBO SOSA PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC THE SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF GOVERNANCE AND JUSTICE. CARLOS AFRICÓ MADRID HART