Part 7

FILLING OF VACANCIES

Sections:

• 3.04.900 Vacancy - Director to be notified.

• 3.04.910 Appointments to be from among qualified candidates.

• 3.04.920 Integrity of the hiring process.

• 3.04.930 Non-competitive appointments.

• 3.04.940 Fair hiring practices.

• 3.04.960 Favoritism prohibited.

• 3.04.990 Appointments - Probationary period.

• 3.04.1000 Probationary period - Authority and purpose.

Whenever a vacancy in the classified service is to be filled, the city manager or designee shall notify the director and request to fill the position. (Prior code § 2007.2; Ord. 26850.)

Except as otherwise provided elsewhere in the civil service rules, all vacancies shall be filled by qualified candidates through a process approved by the director. The director shall forward qualified candidate names to the hiring department for interview and selection consideration to adequately meet the operational needs of the city. (Prior code § 2007.1; Ord. 26850.)

• A. The director is responsible for setting standards in the hiring process, assuring reason-

able adherence to standards, providing quality control, and taking any corrective action, up to and including the annulment of an entire recruitment, screening, and selection process.

• B. The director shall establish training standards for the hiring process and ensure that any city representative participating in the hiring process, including recruiting, screening and selection, is adequately trained.

• C. The director shall develop standards and guidelines to ensure that candidates are evaluated in an open and fair process where standards are applied in a consistent manner. The director may delegate portions of the hiring process to the hiring department, based on the director's judgment that the hiring department has met training and proficiency standards in carrying out the hiring process.

• D. The director shall provide an annual evaluation report to the commission on the hiring process over the prior year, including hiring information for each department.

• (Ord. 26850.)

• A. As an alternative to the city's standard (competitive) recruitment process, and under policies and standards established by the director, a position may be filled through merit-based, non-competitive selection processes. All noncompetitive recruitment processes and appointments must be approved by the director.

  1. Circumstances that require a non-competitive appointment include:

     • a. Cessation of eligibility for disability retirement benefits under any retirement plan of the city and eligibility for reemployment;

     • b. Return to former class due to inability to successfully complete probation for a promotion;

     • c. Reallocation of an occupied position;

     • d. Return from unclassified service (as provided by Charter Section 1105),

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• e. Reinstatement of employees who have been laid off.

  2. Circumstances allowing for but not requiring a non-competitive appointment may include, but are not limited to:

     • a. Reemployment within three years of a positive separation from the city, if the employee had permanent status;

     • b. Voluntary demotion;

     • c. Return to former class, except where separation from the previous class was based on a disciplinary demotion or dismissal;

     • d. Promotion in a flexibly-staffed position;

     • e. Transfers;

     • f. Modified duty placement;

     • g. Appointments to meet the needs of the city as determined by the director.

• B. The director shall report to the commission the number and type of non-competitive appointments at each regular commission meeting.

• (Ord. 26850.)

Hiring activities and decisions shall be conducted in a manner consistent with Charter provisions regarding selection based on merit and fitness, and consistent with local, state, and federal laws, statutes, and regulations governing employment.

(Ord. 26850.)

• A. No employee shall appoint, employ or participate in a hiring decision involving any person within his/her immediate family, nor use his/

her position to influence another city employee to hire a member of his/her immediate family.

• B. For the purposes of this policy, immediate family is defined as wife, husband, domestic partner, mother, father, brother, sister, son, daughter; mother/father/brother/sister/son/ daughter-in-law; grandmother/father/son/ daughter; step-mother/father/son/daughter; uncle, aunt, niece or nephew. These familial relationships include blood, marriage and domestic partner-based relationships.

• C. A domestic partner, as referenced above, must be the domestic partner registered with the employee services department.

• D. At the employee services director's discretion, he/she may correct or halt a recruitment or appointment process if necessary to prevent selections that are inconsistent with a determination of merit and fitness.

(Prior code § 2007.13; Ord. 26850.)

• A. All probationary appointments shall be tentative and subject to successful completion of a probationary period. Except in the case of persons who are employed for a seasonal term, paid at a daily rate of pay, and supervised, controlled and observed during substantially more than eight hours per workday, such probationary period shall not be less than six months of actual service, and in the case of such seasonal employees, the probationary period shall not be less than one entire season of employment.

• B. The commission may, by resolution, establish a longer probationary period, not to exceed twelve months of actual service, for such classes as it may specify, if it deems that such longer period of time is reasonably necessary to fulfill the objectives of the probationary period.

• C. The above provisions shall not apply to any temporary appointment.

• (Prior code § 2007.8; Ords. 24634, 26850.)

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purpose.

The director shall establish the probationary review system, including the standards for probationary evaluation and probation extension, and shall ensure compliance. The hiring department must evaluate and recommend whether a probationary employee passes probation. The probationary period shall be regarded as a part of the assessment process and shall be utilized for closely observing the employee's work and for securing the most effective adjustment of a new employee to his/her position.

(Prior code § 2007.9; Ord. 26850.)

• A. During the probationary period, an employee may be rejected at any time by the appointing power without cause and without the right of appeal. Notification of rejection in writing shall be served on the probationer and a copy filed with the director.

• B. A permanent employee who is rejected during a probationary period in a higher or lateral class shall be reinstated to a position in his/her former class or to a class deemed comparable by the director.

(Prior code § 2007.10; Ord. 26850.)

Part 8

TRANSFERS

Sections:

• 3.04.1080 Transfers from unclassified to classified service - Conditions.

• 3.04.1090 Transfers from unclassified to classified service - Procedures for persons displaced.

A vacancy may be filled by transfer of a regular employee. Employees seeking transfer shall apply for the vacancy in the same manner as other candidates. The city manager may transfer employees without posting a job announcement. (Prior code § 2008.1; Ord. 26850.)

No change, substantial or insubstantial, in specific assignments or in specific duties of the same position, shall be deemed to be a transfer, but such changes shall be governed by the provisions of Section 3.04.470.

(Prior code § 2008.2; Ord. 26850.)

Transfers within the same classification shall not be subject to the probationary period provisions of Part 7 of this chapter. (Prior code § 2008.4; Ord. 26850.)

service - Conditions.

In the event an officer or employee of the city who heretofore held or now holds a position in the classified service was thereafter or is hereafter appointed to a position in the unclassified service, and should subsequently be removed or resign from the unclassified service, he/she shall have the right, if he/she has not been guilty of infamous, disgraceful or dishonest conduct, to be employed forthwith in a position consonant with his/her former classification in the classified service without loss of any rights or privileges and upon the same terms and conditions as if he/she had remained in said classification.

(Prior code § 2008.5; Ord. 26850.)

Whenever it shall be necessary pursuant to Section 3.04.1080 above for the city manager to

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§ 3.04.1170

transfer a person from the unclassified service to the classified service, the city manager may make available for such person a position consonant with his former classification without loss of any rights or privileges and upon the same terms and conditions as if he/she had remained in said classification, it being understood that Part 9 of this chapter pertaining to layoff procedures, or the applicable provisions in a memorandum of agreement or understanding entered into by the city and a recognized employee organization pertaining to layoff procedures, shall apply to said person immediately upon his/her transfer from the unclassified service to the classified service. If any person is displaced from his/her position due to the city manager's decision to transfer a person from the unclassified service to the classified service pursuant to Section 3.04.1080, the provisions set forth in Part 9 of this chapter pertaining to layoff procedures or the applicable provisions in a memorandum of agreement or understanding entered into by the city and a recognized employee organization pertaining to layoff procedures shall apply to said displaced persons.

(Prior code § 2008.6; Ord. 26850.)

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LAYOFFS

Sections:

• 3.04.1180 Reassignment in lieu of layoff.

• 3.04.1190 Definitions for use in Part 9.

• 3.04.1200 Promotion as result of layoff.

• 3.04.1210 Layoff reinstatement eligible list.

• 3.04.1220 Reinstatement of benefits.

• 3.04.1230 Former communications

  • department employees - Selective certification.

The provisions in a "memorandum of understanding" entered into by the city and a recognized employee organization concerning layoffs and reinstatement after layoff shall supersede the provisions of Section 3.04.1160 of this Code as to all employees represented by that recognized employee organization.

(Prior code § 2008.19.)

• A. When one or more employees in the same class in a city department are to be laid off for lack of work, purposes of economy, curtailment of positions or other reason, the order of layoff shall be as follows:

  1. Provisional employees in the order to be determined by the appointing authority;

  2. Probationary employees in the order to be determined by the appointing authority;

  3. Permanent employees in inverse order of seniority within the classification being reduced, or in a higher class.

• B. Permanent employees shall be given every opportunity for transfer to other departments when layoff is pending.

• C. When an employee in a city department would be required, as a result of layoff proposed for the reasons specified herein, to displace the least senior employee in the same classification but in a different city department because of the procedure otherwise applicable in paragraph 3, such employee may, in lieu of displacement and the layoff otherwise required under paragraph 3, be laid off by the city in its discretion upon such employee's request.

• (Prior code § 2008.20; Ord. 19578.)

Employees subject to the provisions of this Part 9 shall, wherever possible, be given at least thirty calendar days' notice in writing prior to the effective date of layoff. The appropriate employee

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§ 3.04.1170

organizations shall receive concurrent notice and, upon written request within seven calendar days after the notice is given, shall be afforded an opportunity to meet with the appropriate city representatives to discuss the circumstances necessitating the layoff and any proposed alternatives to such layoff. (Prior code § 2008.20a; Ord. 19578.)

In the event of layoff, any employee so affected may elect to:

• A. Accept a position in a lateral or lower class in which the employee has previously served, or a position in a lateral or lower class within the series containing the class from which the employee is being laid off, provided the employee is otherwise qualified and is more senior than the least senior employee in such lateral or lower class.

• B. Accept a vacant position in a lateral or lower class for which the employee has the necessary education, experience, and training as determined by the director. Adverse decisions of the director regarding necessary education, experience and training may be appealed to the civil service commission provided the employee files such appeal with the secretary of the commission within ten working days of the date of being notified of the adverse decision.

(Prior code § 2008.20b; Ords. 19578, 24634.)

As used in this Part 9, the following words and phrases shall be defined as follows:

• A. Except as otherwise provided in Section 3.04.1160.A.3. above, seniority shall be defined as the length of continuous paid employment within any permanent class within the classified service of the city. Seniority shall be retained but shall not

accrue during any period of leave without pay, except for authorized military leave.

• B. A lower class shall mean a class with a lower salary range.

• C. A position in a lateral class shall mean a position in a class with the same salary range.

• D. A position in a higher class shall mean a position in a class with a higher salary range.

(Prior code § 2008.20c; Ord. 19578.)

Except as otherwise provided herein, no employee shall be entitled to a position in a higher class as a result of the application of the provisions of this part.

(Prior code § 2008.20d; Ord. 19578.)

• A. The names of such persons laid off in accordance with the provisions of this part shall be placed upon a reinstatement eligible list in inverse order of seniority, i.e., the person with the greatest seniority on the reinstatement eligible list for the classes affected shall be offered reinstatement when a vacancy exists in the affected class. In the event the person refuses the offer of reinstatement, such person's name shall be removed from the reinstatement eligible list unless such person has reinstatement rights under the provisions of this topic to a higher class than the one in which the reinstatement is being refused.

• B. In the event an employee accepts reinstatement to a lower class to which he is entitled, such person's name shall remain on the reinstatement eligible list for reinstatement to a lateral class provided such person, except for lack of seniority, would have been otherwise entitled to such lateral class at the time of the most recent layoff.

• C. Any person who is reinstated to a class which is the highest class to which he would have

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• D. In the event a person on layoff cannot be contacted by the city through usual and customary channels within ten working days, such person's name shall be removed from the reinstatement eligible list; providing, however, that such person within the two-year period specified herein may request that his name be replaced on the reinstatement eligible list and such person's name may, in the sole discretion of the director, be returned to the reinstatement eligible list.

(Prior code § 2008.20e; Ord. 19578.)

Upon reinstatement to any classification to which the employee is entitled pursuant to the provisions of this part, all benefits acquired by the employee prior to his layoff shall also be reinstated. An employee shall not receive credit for time spent on layoff in computing time for any benefit entitlement.

(Prior code § 2008.20f; Ord. 19578.)

Each former city communications department employee who qualifies for employment through examination prior to the expiration of six months after the date on which his former employment by the city ceased due to the transfer of functions of the communications department to the county of Santa Clara may be selectively certified for appointment without regard to his standing on the list from an applicable open competitive eligible list for an entry level vacancy in a city position. (Prior code § 2008.22.)

Part 10

LEAVES OF ABSENCE

Sections:

• 3.04.1270 Leave of absence without pay - Provisions in memorandum of understanding.

• 3.04.1280 Return to duty from leave without pay.

• 3.04.1290 Restoration to eligible list following military leave.

Each and every leave granted to any officer or employee of the city shall specify clearly the date of commencement and the date of termination thereof. (Prior code § 2009.7.)

The appointing authority may grant an initial leave of absence without pay for the good of the service or for the benefit of the employee for a period not to exceed twelve months. Extensions of the leave may be granted with the approval of the appointing authority provided that the total of such extensions shall not exceed a total of twelve months. Any leave granted hereunder may be revoked or cancelled at any time by the appointing authority by notice in writing mailed to the address of the employee on file in the office of the personnel director stating when, not less than thirty days thereafter, said leave shall be revoked or cancelled. (Prior code § 2009.1; Ord. 18273.)

The provisions in a memorandum of understanding entered into by the city and a recognized employee organization concerning leaves of absence without pay shall supersede, with respect to all employees represented by that recognized em-

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§ 3.04.1270

ployee organization, the provisions of this Part 10 of this Code concerning leaves of absence without pay. (Prior code § 2009.8.)

Each employee who is granted a leave of absence without pay pursuant to Section 3.04.1260 above shall be entitled to return to the position held by him before the commencement of said leave; or, if such position has been abolished or otherwise has ceased to exist during his absence, to a position of like status and pay if such position exists, provided and excepting, however, that the provisions of this sentence shall not apply to any employee who does not return to his employment on the first working day following expiration of such leave of absence without pay. However, if such employee should return to duty after the first working day and before the sixtieth working day following expiration of his said leave of absence, the city manager may return said employee to duty upon showing of good cause therefor.

(Prior code § 2009.2; Ord. 18299.)

Any person whose name appears on any eligible list and who, prior to appointment therefrom has entered into active duty in any of the Armed Forces of the United States may, upon his request, within not more than ninety days from and after the date of termination of such military service, providing the same be terminated under conditions other than dishonorable, as undesirable or for bad conduct, have his name restored to the eligible list on which his name appeared, or to an eligible list for a position deemed by the director to be equivalent thereto, at a place corresponding to his score in the examination. Any name placed upon any eligible list pursuant to the provisions of this section shall remain thereon for such period of time as it would have remained upon the list that was in effect at the time of the person's entry into military service. (Prior code § 2009.6.)

No officer or employee in the classified service shall absent himself from duty without leave, except in case of sickness or great emergency. Failure to report for duty as scheduled or failure to notify the city manager of the reason for such absence from duty within forty-eight hours of the commencement thereof may be deemed to constitute resignation from the service, and the position may be declared vacant. If the city manager finds that such absence was excusable by reason of sickness or great emergency, he may grant such officer or employee leave without pay for such period of time as may reasonably be required therefor, not to exceed thirty calendar days. If provision is made elsewhere in these rules or in any other ordinance of the city for leave to be used by any officer or employee in certain specified circumstances, such circumstances shall not be deemed also to constitute a "great emergency" hereunder. Any officer or employee may appeal from any decision respecting facts sufficient to constitute a great emergency to the commission. (Prior code § 2009.4.)