Gov. Landry fails to remove civil service protections from 900 state jobs

by Wesley Muller, Louisiana Illuminator
February 10, 2025

Gov. Jeff Landry has yet to explain or defend his recent attempt to revoke civil service classifications from 900 state job positions, a move some fear would inject politics into the state government’s workforce.

The Louisiana State Civil Service Commission has denied a request from Landry to remove its protected status from any future hirings for 394 attorney and 506 engineer positions in state government, many of them within the Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD). The proposal would not have affected anyone currently employed in those positions.

Conditions for terminating a classified civil servant are multilayered and stringent, requiring due process and the right to an appeal if the employee feels they were unjustifiably let go.

The commission’s 4-2 decision Wednesday followed a lengthy discussion when some of the commissioners were skeptical about what they saw as an unusual, short-notice request with potentially far-reaching consequences.

Commissioner D. Scott Hughes addressed two high-ranking members of the Landry administration in attendance: special counsel Emily Andrews and Deputy Commissioner of Administration Patrick Goldsmith.

“Why today?” Hughes asked. “Why are we here today? Why is this an emergency? Why did I get something last week to change 900 job titles, job descriptions, in some cases, whole job departments?”

Goldsmith argued the request is not about politics but about recruitment and employee turnover. 

“We’re trying to move at the speed of business,” Goldsmith said. “We’re trying to get things done.”

The state is having trouble finding and keeping qualified employees, particularly engineers, and the governor’s office believes it would be easier to recruit for those positions if they were unclassified, Goldsmith said. Unclassified state employees do not have Civil Service protections and can be fired “at-will” for no reason.   

Removing classified Civil Service status from the 900 attorneys and engineers would eliminate the state pay schedule that determines their compensation. Goldsmith said these salary caps, largely based on working experience in state government, have hindered the administration’s ability to hire qualified professionals.  

“I’m tired of making offers, and they just laugh at us,” Goldsmith said. 

The governor’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this report.

It’s unclear whether the state’s many agency heads were in support of or even aware of Landry’s request. The DOTD did not respond to multiple requests for comment sent to spokesman Rodney Mallett. 

Ahead of last week’s commission meeting, the governor’s only communication about his plans was a one-page letter he submitted to the Civil Service Commission with his request. Dated Jan. 29, the letter offered no reasons or explanations for a proposal that came on the heels of President Donald Trump’s executive order revoking civil service protections from tens of thousands of federal employees. The U.S. Office of Personnel and Management issued guidelines on Jan. 27 to carry out Trump’s directive. 

Hughes said the commission might not be able to protect the classified civil service system for much longer, explaining that he believes Louisiana voters may ultimately be asked whether to preserve it or convert it into some new system. 

By suggesting that “the people” might have to decide, Hughes was referring to a state constitutional amendment, which would need the support of two-thirds of the Louisiana Legislature to appear on an election ballot for voter consideration.  

In a phone interview last week, state Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, expressed support for the governor’s request and said it has become too difficult for an agency to fire a classified civil servant even when the termination is justified. He agreed that a constitutional amendment will probably be necessary.

Landry tried unsuccessfully to gain legislative support for a constitutional amendment last year that proposed similar changes. That amendment would have given state lawmakers more control over state employee classifications and would have given Landry more power to decide the make-up of the Civil Service Commission.

The modern civil service is based on reforms that began at the federal level in the late 1800s to correct the abuses of what was then called the “spoils system,” according to a 1946 government publication. Under the spoils system, whichever political party was in power controlled all the government jobs and handed them out in exchange for kickbacks and political loyalty. 

“Whenever a different party or administration came into control, it fired at will the government employees appointed during the preceding regime,” the publication states. “Then it distributed their jobs to its own loyal supporters in accordance with the value of their services to the party.”

In Louisiana, the State Civil Service Commission is composed of seven commissioners who serve overlapping six-year terms. The governor appoints six of the members from a list of nominees chosen by the presidents of the state’s major private universities. The seventh commissioner is elected from among the state’s civil service employees.  

Codi Plaisance, a DOTD engineer who is the elected state employee on the commission, spoke against the governor’s request, sharing written concerns she received from her fellow employees. 

Because unclassified workers can be subject to political punishment and coercion, removing such a large number of engineers from the classified service could create ethical conflicts and unnecessary risks to the public, she said. 

“Adding political influence to engineering decisions is dangerous and may very likely result in harm to life and property,” Plaisance said, citing one state employee’s concerns. 

Administration officials pushed back against that premise, noting the change would apply only to future hires and not affect any current employees.  

Andrews, the governor’s special counsel, cited state statutes she said protect employees by allowing them to file a lawsuit if they are subjected to illegal political coercion or retaliation. 

Hughes countered by saying he found that argument unconvincing. Simply allowing an employee to file a lawsuit when their rights are violated, he said, is not a form of protection. 

Andrews said the governor’s request was limited to lawyers and engineers because those jobs require professional licenses from their own regulatory oversight boards. State licensing boards for engineers and lawyers already exist to handle ethical matters involving those professionals, and those boards would be sufficient in preventing state lawyers and engineers from engaging in any unethical conduct, she said. 

However, those boards cannot protect their licensees in ways the Civil Service Commission can protect classified employees. For example, a licensing board could not reverse the politically-motivated termination of a lawyer from a state agency. 

Also, politics plays a role in determining the membership on one of the professional oversight boards; the governor appoints every member of the Louisiana Professional Engineering and Land Surveying Board. 

Hughes, whom former Gov. John Bel Edwards appointed to the Civil Service Commission, questioned the timing and manner of Landry’s request. Reclassification requests typically come from individual agencies, not the governor’s office, he said, and they also come on a case-by-case basis specific to one or a few positions. 

“I can’t imagine doing it one at a time,” Goldsmith said. “That would just be a bureaucratic nightmare

Ultimately, the governor’s plan is to have a state workforce of fewer, higher paid and better qualified employees, Goldsmith said.

A state agency can offer higher salaries to unclassified employees, but only if it has the money in its budget. 

“Working for DOTD for so long, I always heard that we have budget issues,” Plaisance said. “Where is this [money] coming from? … If we make them unclassified, the budget just magically appears?” 

Hughes offered to do a “test case” in which the commission reclassifies some of the positions to see if it solves the turnover problem. Andrews and Goldsmith declined, saying their current request involving 900 employees was the test case.

Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.