Part 5

RECRUITMENT AND ASSESSMENT

Sections:

• 3.04.600 Nature and type of recruitment and assessments.

• 3.04.610 Internal recruitments.

• 3.04.630 Job announcements.

• 3.04.640 Minimum qualifications.

• 3.04.680 Notification of examination results and review of keyed copy of written portion of examination.

• 3.04.690 Notification of written examination results and review of examination papers.

• 3.04.700 Records retention.

• A. Except as otherwise provided elsewhere in the civil service rules, the nature and type of recruitment and assessments to be conducted for each class or position shall be determined by the director. The assessment techniques used shall be impartial, shall use job-related screening requirements, and shall fairly deter-

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• B. Candidates with comparable qualifications shall be treated in a similar manner in the hiring process. Comparable qualifications include a candidate's education, training, experience, competencies, knowledge, skill, abilities, aptitudes, accomplishments and interests. Qualified candidates shall be considered for appointment to the position. All candidates for a position must also meet minimum qualifications for the class.

(Prior code § 2005.1; Ord. 26850.)

Internal recruitments may be conducted whenever, in the opinion of the director, the needs of the city and the classified civil service so require. (Prior code § 2005.2; Ord. 26850.)

The director is responsible for posting all competitive recruitments and for establishing standards for job announcements.

(Prior code § 2005.4; Ords. 20664, 26850.)

The director shall establish requirements for filling a vacancy and for the selection process. Neither the director, the head of any department, the appointing authority, nor the civil service commission shall establish or require any non-job-related minimum requirement or qualification for employment in the classified service.

(Prior code § 2005.5; Ords. 18840, 26850.)

• A. Except as otherwise provided, any candidate who has taken a written examination or the written portion of an examination may, within seven calendar days from and after the date of completion of such written examination, but

  • only on any such days when the office of the director is open for public business, review a keyed copy of the examination in the office of the director. Review of the keyed copy of the examination by any candidate shall be limited to the purpose of requesting review of such items in the examination as the candidate may believe are incorrectly or improperly keyed. Candidates may, within said seven-calendarday period of review, file with the director a written protest against any item contained in the keyed copy, citing the item or items against which the protest is directed and stating in detail the reason for such appeal, the relief requested, and the grounds therefor. After the expiration date of said seven-calendar-day period, the director shall review the protested items and make such adjustments in the scoring key by correction or elimination of any of the protested items as the director deems appropriate.

• B. Each candidate who files a written protest pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be given written notice by mail of the director's decision thereon.

• C. Within five working days after the date on which notice of decision of the director is mailed, any candidate who has filed a protest as above provided may appeal from an unfavorable determination by the director of his or her protest by filing written notice of such with the commission. Such written notice of appeal shall state the protested questions which were determined by the director adversely to the candidate's protest. Within ten calendar days of filing of any such appeal, the commission shall review the determination of the director that is the subject of the appeal, and may make such adjustments in the scoring key of the examination as it deems appropriate by correction or elimination of protested answers.

• D. Nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to apply to or to give to any candidate

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§ 3.04.680

the right to review any continuous examination, any standardized examination, or any standardized portion of any examination. (Prior code § 2005.9; Ords. 20670, 24330, 26850.)

• A. Each candidate who participates in the written portion of a hiring or promotional examination shall be given notice in writing by first class United States mail of his/her score on such written examination. Any candidate shall have the right to inspect his/her written examination paper within five working days from and after the date on which notice of his/her score is dated by the director, but only on such of said days as the office of the director is open for public business. Each candidate may request rescoring on the basis of errors in computation of scoring of his/her written examination.

• B. Every error in computation shall be corrected by the director immediately upon determination that any error has in fact occurred. No examination paper or any part thereof, nor any record or statement or other thing, which is a part of or related or connected to the examination shall be in any way rescored, altered, amended or otherwise changed or marked by any candidate.

• C. Each candidate who has requested correction of his/her examination paper shall be given written notice by mail of the director's action upon such request.

• D. No candidate shall have the right to inspect papers filled out by an interviewer or an examining board or examining persons in any oral or practical examination, nor examine any answers of any continuous or standardized examination. Nor shall any candidate have the right to inspect records which are exempt from disclosure under the provisions of the California Public Records Act.

(Prior code § 2005.10; Ords. 20666, 21712, 26850.)

The director shall ensure that hiring-related records are securely maintained by the city for time periods determined by the director or dictated by law.

• (Ord. 26850.)

Part 6

ELIGIBLE LISTS AND DISQUALIFICATION

Sections:

• 3.04.750 Background screening.

• 3.04.780 Promotion eligible list - Sworn police and fire classifications.

• 3.04.800 Reinstatement lists.

• 3.04.850 Disqualification and removal from consideration.

• 3.04.855 Medical rejection from a position - Appeal.

• A. The background of candidates for employment may be screened according to standards set by the director.

• B. At such time as their names are placed on the qualified candidates group, and prior to their consideration for appointment by the city's appointing authority, the background of candidates for employment may be screened by the director, and the candidates' names shall be subject to removal from the qualified candidates group should the results of such screening, in the opinion of the director, prove them ineligible for city employment; provided, however, that candidates shall have the right to appeal their removal from the qualified candidates group to the civil service commission.

• (Prior code § 2006.1; Ords. 19755, 26850.)

• A. Resolution of tie scores. If two or more eligibles have identical final scores for purposes of determining eligibility, they shall be ranked

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§ 3.04.780

• upon the eligible list in order of their respective scores in that portion of the examination which has the greatest weight; and thereafter, if two or more eligibles have identical scores, they shall be ranked upon a promotion eligible list according to aggregate full-time service, which shall not be deemed to include, in the case of any employee who has resigned or been discharged and subsequently rehired, any full-time service prior to such resignation or discharge.

(Prior code § 2006.12)

• B. Duration of lists. The names of persons in sworn police and fire classifications who have met the requirements for eligibility shall be placed on an appropriate promotion eligibility list and shall remain thereon for a period of two years from the date of placement on the list, unless removed for cause as provided in these rules. The director may extend or continue the eligibility of such persons for six months at a time, up to a maximum of three years from the original date of such eligibility.

• C. Merging of names on lists. When in the opinion of the director, it becomes necessary or desirable to hold an examination while there still remain names on a Police or Fire promotion eligible list, the director shall hold such examination and shall consolidate or merge names for the same class by rearranging the eligible names in the order of their final scores. Any person whose name appears on an existing eligible list shall have an opportunity to compete in the subsequent examination, provided he/she meets the requirements for said examination, and if he/she so elects, his/her standing on the eligible list shall be determined by either of the two scores secured by him/her on the two examinations at his/her election; but if he/she elects the score on the earlier examination his/her name shall not remain on the eligible list for a longer period of time than would have been the case but for such merger or consolidation of the lists.

• D. Removal of names from lists. Names of eligibles shall be removed or withheld from certification from any eligible list by the director for any of the following reasons:

  1. Inability of postal authorities to deliver mail to the eligible within a reasonable time;

  2. Conviction of a felony if related to the duties of the position and the ability to perform the job, or conviction of a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude if related to the duties of the position and the ability to perform the job. With regards to peace officers, conviction of a felony is automatically disqualifying under state law;

  3. Proof of fraud or false statements in the application, or proof of fraudulent conduct in connection with an examination;

  4. Appointment to a position in the class for which the eligible list was established, or for which the list is deemed suitable by the director;

5. Waiver by applicant of three offers of appointments, except this shall not apply to offers of temporary appointments;

   6. Waiver by applicant on three occasions of interviews after certification on an eligible list, except that this shall not apply to temporary appointments;

   7. Eligible's request to be removed, death of the eligible, or, resignation from the service by an eligible;

   8. Failure to appear or to arrange for an interview with an appointing authority within seven days after notification of certification, or failure to appear for work after appointment;

   9. Declination of an appointment without reason satisfactory to the director;

   10. Request for waiver of certification determined to be capricious or unfounded by the director;

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§ 3.04.780

11. Failure of the eligible to meet medical standards required to be met by applicants for employment in the applicable classification of positions;

12. For other reasonable cause.

• E. Appeal of removal from list. Any person whose name is removed from an eligible list for any such reason, except those reasons set out in paragraphs 4 and 7 above, may within thirty calendar days after such notice of removal was placed in the mail, appeal in writing to the commission to have such person's name replaced on the list. If it finds that there is a good cause therefor, the commission may order replacement of such person's name on the list; provided however, that if a person's name has been removed from an eligible list due to failure to satisfy either a background standard or psychological standard, then such person's name shall not be replaced on the eligible list unless the commission determines that there was not substantial evidence to support the decision of the director in removing or withholding said person's name from the eligible list. Notice need not be mailed or otherwise given following removal of any name from an eligible list for any of the reasons set out in paragraphs 4 and 7 above.

• F. Number of names to be certified as available for appointment.

  1. Except as otherwise hereinafter provided, when one vacancy is to be filled, the director shall certify as available for appointment thereto the names of ten eligibles standing highest on the applicable list of eligibles, or if there are less than ten available, the names of such lesser number of eligibles. The city manager may appoint any one of said ten eligibles to fill said vacancy, or if less than ten are certified as available, he/she may either appoint one of said lesser number to fill the vacancy, or request the director to administer a new examination for the purpose of increasing the number of available eligibles

from which the city manager may select a person to fill such vacancy. In the latter event, the director shall give such examination for the purpose of increasing the number of available eligibles.

2. When more than one vacancy is to be filled, the director shall certify as available for appointment to such vacancies the names of eligibles standing highest on the applicable list of eligibles equal in number to the number of vacancies to be filled and ten more in addition thereto, or if there are less than such number available, the names of such lesser number of eligibles. The city manager may appoint any of said eligibles so certified as available to fill any of said positions; also, if the number of names certified to him/her is less than the number of vacancies plus ten, he/she may request the director to administer a new examination for the purpose of increasing the number of available eligibles, from which he/she may select persons to fill said vacancies, to the number of vacancies plus ten. In the latter event, the director shall give such examination to increase the number of available eligibles.

• G. Removal and restoration of names from lists following resignation. Names of eligibles shall be removed from any promotion eligible list by the director upon the effective date of any resignation of any such eligible. Upon reemployment pursuant to Section 3.04.1530, a former employee shall have his/her name restored to any promotion eligible list from which it was removed at the time of resignation in the position thereon that it would have occupied but for such resignation, if such eligible list has not expired prior to such reemployment.

• (Prior code §§ 2006.4, 2006.9; Ords. 19711, 20669, 20955, 21684, 22384, 26850.)

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Names shall be placed on appropriate reinstatement eligible lists by the director in the following order:

• A. First, any person who is eligible for any employment or required to be employed by reason of cessation of eligibility for disability retirement benefits under any retirement plan of the city;

• B. Second, regular employees who have been laid off for lack of work, purposes of economy, curtailment of positions, or other reasons.

(Prior code § 2006.6; Ords. 18299, 26850.)

The director shall establish standards for disqualifying candidates from further consideration in a selection process, and for addressing candidate concerns about the nature or implementation of selection processes. The director shall report to the commission on any concerns raised by candidates regarding the nature or implementation of selection processes and any corrective action taken at every regular meeting of the civil service commission.

• A. Candidates may be removed from a qualified candidate group for causes such as the following:

  1. Inability to contact candidate in a timely fashion (such as returned mail, disconnected phone or e-mail);

  2. Conviction of a felony if related to the duties of the position and the ability to perform the job or conviction of a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude if related to the duties of the position and the ability to perform the job. With regards to peace officers, conviction of a felony is automatically disqualifying under state law;

  3. Proof of fraud or false statements in the application, or proof of fraudulent conduct in connection with an assessment process;

  4. Failure to appear for an interview;

  5. Termination for cause.

• B. Any candidate who is removed from a qualified candidate group for any such reason, may within thirty calendar days after such notice of removal was placed in the mail, appeal in writing to the commission to have such person's name replaced in the qualified candidate group. If it finds that there is a good cause therefor, the commission may order replacement of such person's name in the qualified candidate group; provided however, that if a person's name has been removed from a qualified candidate group due to failure to satisfy either a background standard or psychological standard, then such person's name shall not be replaced in the qualified candidate group unless the commission determines that there was not substantial evidence to support the decision of the director in removing or withholding said person's name from the qualified candidate group.

(Prior code § 2006.9; Ords. 19711, 20669, 20955, 21684, 22384, 26850.)

• A. The personnel director shall reject for employment in a position any person in a qualified candidate group who fails to meet the medical requirements for that position.

• B. Any person who has been rejected for employment for failure to meet the medical requirements for a position may, within ten days after mailing to him/her of notice of such status, appeal to the civil service commission to have his/her name reinstated for consideration for that position if it remains unfilled, or to be considered for positions having similar medical requirements in that classification. If it finds good cause therefore, the commission may order replacement of his/her name in the qualified group for such position, if such po-

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§ 3.04.855

sition remains unfilled, or to have him/her considered for positions in that classification having similar medical requirements. Nothing in this section shall require that any position must be kept open for the appellant pending this appeal.

(Ords. 20192, 26850.)