Torrance Municipal Code Art. 12 Examinations

The Commission shall prepare, or have prepared under its direction, all examinations.

A written or printed notice of examination shall be posted at the following places within said City, to wit: on the bulletin board at the United States Post Office, on the bulletin board at the Torrance Public Library, and on the official bulletin board in the City Hall of said City. Public Notices of the examination shall be given at least one (1) week prior to the date thereof.

Examinations may be postponed by order of the Commission.

a) Subjects, Weights and Grades. All examinations shall embrace certain subjects to which weights shall be assigned. The weight given to each subject shall represent its relative value in ascertaining the fitness of the applicant. Each subject shall be graded independently. The examination grade shall be multiplied by the weight assigned to such subject and the sum of the resulting products shall be divided by the total weights of all subjects in the examination. The resulting quotient shall be the final grade which shall determine the order in which the name of the applicant shall appear on the eligible list.

b) Passing Grades. Unless otherwise provided in notices posted prior to holding the examination a grade of seventy (70) on each portion of the examination and an overall final grade of seventy (70) must be obtained to pass the examination. Conversion formulas may be used when deemed desirable.

The Commission may call upon other persons to draw up, conduct, or mark examinations. Any special examiner who shall knowingly or willfully neglect, refuse or fail to mark applicants according to the rules, or who shall be guilty of fraudulent or improper conduct in connection with an examination, shall be removed and be disqualified from serving again as a special examiner and shall forfeit any right to compensation.

It shall be the duty of special examiners to make returns within thirty (30) days, if possible, after holding an examination.

a) Promotion Based on Examination. All promotions to a higher class and appointments to another class, except as otherwise provided in these rules, shall be made from eligible lists created by competitive examination in the same manner as prescribed for original appointments.

b) Rules Governing Promotional Examinations. The rules governing promotional examinations shall be the same as those governing original entrance examinations except as herein provided; and except that no credit will be allowed for veteran’s preference in a promotional exam.

c) Selection for Promotion. No person appearing on an eligible list may be passed over in preference to some other appointment made from the same eligible list without approval of the City Manager or a designated representative of the City Manager.

Examinations for the creation of eligible lists for the higher positions in the competitive service of the City shall be ordered as often as may be necessary to meet or anticipate the needs of the higher class. Such examinations shall be known as:

a) Departmental Promotional. Limited to eligible employees of the department embracing the position for which the examination shall be given unless there are four (4) employees filed and accepted except when specifically approved by the Civil Service Commission.

b) Interdepartmental Promotional. Open to eligible employees in the classified service.

No person shall be eligible to take either of said promotional examinations unless actually in the City employ at the time of examination or on leave of absence and the employee has completed six (6) months of actual service after permanent appointment.

In promotional examinations there shall be added the subject "Seniority" with weight not less than one-twentieth of the total weight of all subjects.

The marking to be entered for Seniority shall be not less than one-tenth of one (1) percent nor more than five (5) percent of the total credits specified for said examination and shall be determined from the record of the employee’s service. For the completion of six (6) months of service there shall be given a credit of one-tenth of one (1) percent of the total credits specified for the examination, and a like amount shall be added for each additional calendar month of service thereafter, provided, however, that the total credit for seniority thus determined shall not exceed five (5) percent of the total credits specified for the examination.

For the purpose of computing seniority credit, active service shall include all time during which the employee is carried on the payroll of the City, time worked for the City in any classification in any department, and in addition thereto, all time during which the employee has been absent from duty as a result of:

a) Sickness or injury suffered or sustained within the course and scope of employment;

b) Voluntary or involuntary service in the armed forces of the United States during war or national emergency proclaimed by the President or Congress;

c) Involuntary service in the armed forces of the United States under any act of Congress providing for induction or conscription;

d) Involuntary or voluntary service in the armed forces of the United States as a member of any reserve component or of the California National Guard not in excess of thirty (30) days per year.

(Amended by O-3529)

No examination shall be deemed to have been completed until the markings and results have been determined, and the Civil Service Administrator has promulgated the same and announced the results to the candidates. No person taking an examination shall acquire any rights whatsoever until the eligible list has been promulgated.

The examination papers written by an applicant shall be open to inspection by the applicant or an agent authorized by the applicant for a period of thirty (30) days after the date of promulgation of the eligible list, and the applicant shall be informed of the separate ratings if requested.

Examination papers of applicants are not subject to inspection by the public nor by other applicants, and the references and oral rating sheets shall be deemed confidential and shall not be open to inspection by the applicant nor by the public.

An applicant may, within ten (10) days of the promulgation of an eligible list by the Civil Service Commission, appeal in writing from any part of the examination but no appeal shall be considered unless the appellant states specific reasons for appealing. All appeals and all correspondence relating thereto shall be referred to the Civil Service Commission for consideration.

In considering an appeal, the Commission may permit the appellant to be heard and after consideration of the entire matter the Commission shall make its decision and determine the final rating of the applicant, which determination shall be final for all purposes.