Civil Service


Civil Service - Rules & Regulations

Rules & Regulations

RULE IX - REGISTER OF ELIGIBLES

Section 1. 
A register of eligibles shall be prepared by the Civil Service Board as the needs of the service may require, for each position in the Classified Service, from candidates who have been found duly qualified after an examination and in order of merit and fitness as shown by the respective scores of the aggregate marking. When two or more eligibles shall have equal average scores on an examination, they shall have equal rank on the eligible register.

Section 2. 
A. Non-employee eligibles may be removed from the register after six months from the date of examination provided that an eligible may notify the Board of continuing interest in City employment and may continue eligibility for an additional six months without further examination.

B. The register of eligibles for each classification may be supplemented periodically as the personnel needs of the City and the principle of open competition may warrant. As registers are thus supplemented all eligibles will be ranked according to their respective performance by examination.

RULE X - APPOINTMENTS - COMPETITIVE CLASS

Section 1. 
Every vacancy in the Classified Service not filled by promotion, transfer, reinstatement, or reduction shall be filled by appointment from the eligible register established for that position upon the requisition of the City Manager.

Section 2. 
Appointments shall be made to, or employment shall be given in all positions in the competitive class, by selection of persons certified from the eligible register resulting from open competitive examinations held by the Civil Service Board, except as herein otherwise provided. (See Rules XIV and XVI)

Section 3. 
A. Whenever the appointing authority shall request a certification from the Civil Service Board for appointment to any position in the competitive class, he shall specify the title, class, duties, and compensation for such position, whether permanent or temporary, so that the certification may be made from the proper eligible register.

B. The Secretary, acting for the Civil Service Board, shall certify to the appointing authority the names of those best qualified as determined by competitive examination for the position(s) in question. The number or proportion of those certified from the eligible register shall be determined to best serve the personnel needs of the requesting department, open and fair competitive selection and equal employment opportunity. The certification of eligibles shall be consistent with the scoring schedule established under the provisions of Rule VIII, Section 3D. A copy of the Application for Employment for any certified eligible shall be made available to the appointing authority upon request. The appointing authority shall make a selection for appointment from the list of certified eligibles and report such action thereon to the Secretary.

C. If the eligible register of qualified persons is excessively long, a workable number of eligibles may be certified.

D. In City departments where selection standards are required to be in substantial conformity with federal merit system standards in order to retain their eligibility to receive federal grant-in-aid funds, appointments from certification under this rule shall be made from the highest ranking ten available eligibles on the certifications.

Section 4. 
A. When an eligible certified for appointment shall fail to notify the department head he will accept an offer of appointment, made by mail or otherwise, within the four business days succeeding the notice of appointment, he shall be deemed to have declined the appointment and his name shall be stricken from the eligible register.

B. If, however, it shall be made to appear to the satisfaction of the Civil Service Board within thirty days after giving such notice, that the person was unavoidably, and without fault on his or her part, prevented from accepting said appointment, the name may be restored to its proper position on the eligible register.

Section 5. 
An eligible who has declined an appointment on the ground of insufficiency of salary offered shall not thereafter be certified for a position at the same or any less salary except at his written request.

Section 6. 
Whenever there are urgent reasons for filling a vacancy in any position in the competitive class and there is no register of persons eligible for appointment, the appointing authority may nominate a person to the Civil Service Board for a non-competitive examination, and if such nominee shall be certified by the Secretary of the Civil Service Board as qualified after such examination, he may be appointed provisionally for a period not to exceed six (6) months to fill such vacancy with the understanding that during the provisional appointment he may be required to take a competitive examination, and a selection and appointment made after such competitive examinations.

Section 7. 
No person whose name is upon an eligible register may waive his right to certification or appointment without being stricken from the register of eligibles, except for one of the following reasons, stated in writing to the appointing authority or the Civil Service Board:

(1) Insufficiency of the salary attached to the position offered, or

(2) Temporary inability, physical or other causes beyond his control, to accept the position offered, the proof of which shall be acceptable to the Civil Service Board. The Civil Service Board shall enter upon its minutes the reasons for its action in each case, and the waiver shall not continue in effect for a longer period than ninety days from the date of certification without a special vote of the Civil Service Board.

Section 8. 
The appointing authority shall forward to the Civil Service Board, with the notice of appointments, copies of all correspondence to and from the person declining such appointment.

Section 9. 
A. Appointments or promotions of city officers and employees in the Classified and Unclassified Service shall not be deemed complete until a period of six months shall have elapsed. A probationer may be discharged, suspended or reduced within said period by the City Manager, or the head of the department in which said probationer is employed without right of appeal. (Employees on probation following promotion are provided retreat rights to their former classification under Rule XVI and the Personnel Rules.)

B. Probationary periods may be extended under Civil Service Rules or Personnel Rules to allow six months of actual on-the-job work performance or completion of any written prerequisites to employment or promotion.

C. When injury or other adverse circumstance causes an extended absence which prevents the full and fair evaluation of an employee during initial probation, the employing department head may request extension of the probationary period within ten working days of the conclusion of the absence or the scheduled end of the probationary period, whichever occurs first. The secretary may approve the extension not to exceed a total of six months on-job work performance. Extensions shall not be granted where indications of problem absenteeism are present. The Secretary will report granted extensions periodically to the Civil Service Board for review and control.

D. Probation for the classification of Probationary Security Officer shall end six months following completion of the required classroom training but will be subject to the provision of Section C above as appropriate.

E. Probation may be extended by the Civil Service Board to include the entire period of training of a formal apprenticeship training program. When such extension is approved, employees will be so informed prior to employment and will complete probation on successful completion of the training program.

Section 10. 
In making any appointment, the appointing authority may, when all other qualifications for employment are equal, give preferential consideration to applicants who are residents of the City of Dallas.

Section 11. 
No officer shall appoint, engage, employ, or promote any subordinate officer or employee in the Classified Service, except in accordance with these rules.

RULE XI - APPOINTMENTS - NON-COMPETITIVE CLASS

Section 1. 
A. Classes requiring peculiar and exceptional qualifications of a scientific, professional, or expert nature, upon satisfactory evidence that competition as evidenced by written examination is impractical and that positions in these classes can best be filled by the selection of designated persons of recognized attainments, the Civil Service Board may, by a majority vote, suspend competition and declare these classes to be non-competitive. All such suspensions shall be recorded in the minutes of the Board and the Board shall, from time to time, review all such suspensions to determine if the best interest of the City is served by continuing such classes in the non-competitive class.

B. The person who is recommended for appointment under this rule shall file an application with the Civil Service Board in regular form, together with such proof of education, training, experience, ability and character, as the Civil Service Board may require, and the said Board may use such means as it thinks best to verify the qualifications of the applicant. If such person is properly qualified, the appointing authority shall be so advised and authorized to make appointment.

C. Should an applicant for a position in the non-competitive class be found to be disqualified for any reason, the appointing authority shall be so advised and he shall then make another selection in such manner as above stated.

Section 2. 
A. Time-limited positions filled on a part-time, seasonal or temporary basis are considered to be in the non-competitive Classified Service and may be filled either by the reappointment of a former part-time, seasonal or temporary employee previously qualified to perform the same or similar work, or by appointment from a non-competitive list of eligibles who have filed applications on proper form and who meet the minimum requirements for the class for which they have filed applications.

B. Permanent positions designated by the City Manager to be filled under provisions of federally funded programs to assist disadvantaged persons are considered to be in the non-competitive Classified Service. A person recommended for appointment under this rule shall file with the Civil Service Board an application in regular form. If such person qualified by regular Civil Service examination, the appointing authority shall be so advised and authorized to make appointment. Should an applicant for non-competitive appointment be found not to be qualified, the appointing authority shall be so advised and such applicant may be appointed to underfill a suitable trainee position in a lower grade on a conditional basis for a period not to exceed one year. During such trainee period the appointee may at suitable intervals attempt to qualify by regular examination for the position being underfilled or the most nearly similar class in his career development plan.

C. Before any employee appointed under provisions of this rule will be eligible for permanent appointment, such employee shall have qualified by regular competitive examination for the class in which permanent appointment is sought.

Rules & Regulations