CIVIL SERVICE RULES

Establishment of Eligible Lists | Promulgation of Eligible Lists | Duration of Eligible Lists | Eligible Lists Confidential | Reemployment Lists | Promotional Lists | Open Eligible Lists | Priority of Eligible Lists | Inactive Status | Transfer, Voluntary Demotion, and Reinstatement | Candidates for Transfer, Voluntary Demotion, or Promotion | Candidate for Reinstatement | Lateral Transfer: Candidates from Other Recognized Agencies | Subdivision of Eligible Lists | Erroneous Eligible List | Removal of Names from an Eligible List | Protest from Removal from Eligible List

Rule Seven
ELIGIBLE LISTS

701. Establishment of Eligible Lists.

After each examination, the Personnel Director shall prepare an eligible list of persons with passing grades. Starting with the highest score, the names of eligibles shall be placed on the list in order of their final ratings. If some eligibles have identical ratings, they shall be grouped as one standing for certification purposes.

702. Promulgation of Eligible Lists.

The Personnel Director shall prepare a tabulation of the results of each examination. The eligible list established from each such examination shall be in effect from the date on which it is approved by the Personnel Director.

703. Duration of Eligible Lists.

The duration of an eligible list shall be no less than three months nor more than four years. The duration shall be specified in the examination announcement. When, in the opinion of the Personnel Director, an eligible list does not meet the demands of the service, but has not expired, the Director may order examinations to provide additional eligibles. The names of the additional eligibles shall be merged by score with those remaining on the previous list.

Eligible lists may be abolished or extended by the Personnel Director who shall record an explanation of the reason for the change. In no event shall lists be in force for less than three months nor more than four years. Notice of intention to abolish an eligible list shall be sent to all eligibles whose names appear on the list to be abolished.

704. Eligible Lists Confidential.

Eligible lists are confidential, and the relative position of eligibles on a list, or their scores, shall not be made available except to the eligibles independently, their designated representative, or an authorized representative of a department in which they may be considered for appointment.

705. Reemployment Lists.

For each class within each department a reemployment list shall be established which contains the names of employees who have been laid off. The employees shall be ranked in the inverse order of separation; that is, the last laid off shall be first. Persons on such reemployment lists shall be eligible for appointment therefrom for a period of two years from the date their names were placed on the list.

When a vacancy exists in a department in a classification where a departmental reemployment list exists, the person standing highest on the list shall be offered the appointment prior to other eligibles on the list. However, any offer of appointment is subject to the candidate's ability to qualify in the medical examination or evaluation for the particular position in the class.

Refusal to accept reemployment or failure to respond to an offer of reemployment from a reemployment list shall remove the eligible's name from that list. Each division of any list shall be geographical area and shall be considered independently from one another, and refusal to accept reemployment from one division shall remove the eligible's names from that division of the list only, except that refusal to accept reemployment in the same geographical area as that from which the employee was laid off shall remove the eligible's name from all divisions of the list.

When a vacancy exists in a classification and in a department other than the department where the layoff occurred, names from the ten highest standings shall be certified from the reemployment lists for other departments so as to provide at least ten names. If no such reemployment lists exist, or there are fewer than ten names, additional names may be certified from appropriate eligible lists as provided for in these Rules. The acceptance or waiver of a position offer shall not affect the individual's standing on the reemployment list for the department from which he or she was laid off.

When an organizational unit is transferred from one department to another within two years of a layoff having occurred, and, when the classification is unique to that organizational unit and no longer exists in the original department, and, when the employee's last two performance evaluations are rated as satisfactory or above, then the employee's name will be placed on a reemployment list that will be issued to the department which received the organizational unit, not the department from which the employee was originally laid off. The employee will have no reemployment rights to the department from which they were laid off.

706. Promotional Lists.

The names of employees who are successful in a departmental promotional examination shall be placed on a departmental promotional list for the class for which the examination is held, and said list shall take precedence next after reemployment lists. Such departmental list shall be used only for the department concerned. The names of employees who are successful in a County-wide promotional examination shall be placed on a County promotional list for the class for which the examination is held, and said list shall take precedence over the open eligible list for that class.

707. Open Eligible Lists.

The names of competitors who are successful in open examinations shall be placed on open eligible lists in the descending order of their final ratings.

The name of an individual who has successfully completed an approved on-the-job training program shall be placed on an open eligible list if the program is deemed by the Personnel Director as the examination for the class and the program has the prior approval of the Personnel Director. The Personnel Director shall notify the Civil Service Commission in writing of approvals of such on-the-job training programs.

708. Priority of Eligible Lists.

Eligible lists shall be certified to an appointing authority in the following order:

a. reemployment list;
b. departmental promotional list;
c. County promotional list;
d. open eligible list and/or free names.

The names of eligibles shall be certified in accordance with the rules for certification of eligible candidates.

The appointing authority may fill a vacancy by an intradepartmental transfer or a demotion in lieu of layoff, provided, that the employee transferred or demoted has greater total continuous service credit than the highest standing person on the reemployment list for the class in the department.

709. Inactive Status.

The name of an eligible who is not available for appointment may, upon written request, be placed in an inactive status, and may be restored to active status upon written request of such eligible, provided said list is still in existence.

710. Transfer, Voluntary Demotion, and Reinstatement.

As an alternative to appointment from an eligible list, a position may be filled by transfer, voluntary demotion, or reinstatement, as provided for in these Rules.

711. Candidates for Transfer, Voluntary Demotion, or Promotion.

An employee may request:

a. a transfer or a demotion to a position in the same class or to another class with the same or lower salary allocation for which the employee meets the minimum qualifications;

b. a demotion to a position in a class with a lower salary allocation for which the employee meets the minimum qualifications;

c. a promotion to a class in which the employee previously held permanent or probationary status.

The employee shall submit a written request to the appointing authority in the department to which the employee wants to transfer, voluntarily demote, or promote. If the appointing authority selects the employee, the effective date of the transfer, demotion, or promotion shall coincide with the first day of the pay period following receipt of the personnel change form by the Personnel Department.

712. Candidate for Reinstatement.

An employee, having permanent or probationary status, who resigns in good standing, or who is displaced or laid off may, within two years after the date of separation or layoff, request in writing, and by submitting a new application, reinstatement to a position in the same class or to another class with the same or lower salary allocation and for which the employee possesses the minimum qualifications. Upon approval by the Personnel Director, the name of each such candidate shall be placed on the eligible list as a free name for the appropriate class and shall not count as a standing when determining the order of standings on an eligible list. The name shall be retained on the eligible list as a free name for a period not to exceed two years from the date of separation or lay off unless it is removed sooner in accordance with these rules.

Upon notice from the Santa Barbara County Board of Retirement that a person on disability retirement is no longer incapacitated, that name shall be placed on the eligible list for the class of position held by the employee when retired for disability as a free name, and shall not count as a standing when determining the order of standings on an eligible list. Such candidate shall be certified only to the department where the person was employed immediately prior to retirement and the name shall be retained on the eligible list for two years or until candidate is either reinstated, refuses to accept reinstatement, or fails to respond to an offer of reinstatement. If not reinstated during the two year period the candidate may, again, be placed on the eligible list for reinstatement as outlined in this paragraph.

713. Lateral Transfer: Candidates from Other Recognized Agencies.

Under the following conditions, the name of an individual who has held permanent or probationary status in the classified service of a California public agency operating a personnel merit system may be placed on an open eligible list for a comparable or lower class in the Santa Barbara County service, and shall be certified as a free name as provided in Rule Eight.

a. The class for which the list is approved possesses essentially the same or lesser minimum qualifications as the class in which the individual held permanent status.

b. The individual has been in the employ of the other agency within one year of the date the list is approved.

c. The individual achieved permanent or probationary status as the result of a qualifying or competitive examination.

d. The individual has performed satisfactorily and has not been separated nor is being considered for separation because of fault or delinquency.

e. The other agency submits information to the Personnel office which confirms that the required conditions have been met and that the individual is eligible for reemployment or continued employment in the class in which permanent or probationary status is held.

If a department head appoints an eligible who has qualified by transferring from another jurisdiction, the employee shall serve the required probationary period before attaining permanent status.

714. Subdivision of Eligible Lists.

Where the duties of positions or efficiency of recruitments require, eligible lists may be subdivided, or separate eligible lists established, for the various departments, subdivisions of departments, institutions, or sections of the County. All such separations or subdivisions shall be by order of the Personnel Director in the public notice of examination.

715. Erroneous Eligible List.

When it becomes evident that an omission or other error has occurred in the preparation of a list, a corrected list shall be prepared by the Personnel Director. The names of individuals who do not qualify shall be removed from the list; however, any appointments previously made shall not be invalidated.

716. Removal of Names from an Eligible List.

In addition to the causes listed in Rule Five, a name may be withheld from certification or removed from the eligible list for any of the following reasons:

a. On evidence that the eligible cannot be located by the postal authorities;

b. On receipt of a statement from an eligible declining an appointment and stating no further interest in a position with Santa Barbara County;

c. Upon failure of the candidate to respond to a written inquiry from the Personnel Department;

d. If an appointing authority interviews and does not select a certified eligible in connection with three separate appointments, such eligible shall be omitted from subsequent certifications to that same appointing authority from the same eligible list;

e. Upon appointment to a position in the class for which the eligible list was established or reemployment in a class from which laid off. Such appointment or reemployment shall be the basis for removal of the eligible's name from all other related lists at the same or lower salary levels;

f. Upon refusal to accept reemployment from a reemployment list. Each division of any list shall be by geographical area and shall be considered independently from one another, and refusal to accept reemployment from one division shall remove the eligible's name from that division of the list, except that refusal to accept reemployment in the same geographical area as that from which the employee was laid off shall remove the eligible's name from all divisions of the list;

g. Upon resignation from the classified service of an eligible on a promotional eligible list;

h. Upon inability to qualify in a pre-employment medical examination or evaluation for a particular position in the class.

i. After the third refusal of an offer of employment and/or a waiver of an interview with an appointing authority. A waiver is defined as the failure of an eligible on a certification list to accept, respond or report to a department’s documented invitation to an interview.

Whenever a name is removed from an eligible list, the individual shall be notified, in writing, of the reason and informed of the right to protest, except that notification shall not be provided to those eligibles removed in accordance with subsections (e) and (g) above.

717. Protest from Removal from an Eligible List.

Any employee or candidate removed from an eligible list or withheld from certification may protest for restoration to the eligible list or certification after withhold or removal for any cause provided in these Rules. Protests may be filed in writing with the Personnel Director within thirty days of the date on which notification was sent to the individual. Unless otherwise resolved to the satisfaction of all interested parties by the Personnel Director, all protests shall be referred to the Commission for investigation. The Commission shall examine the facts and issue its decision within a reasonable period, which shall be the final administrative remedy, and the protestant shall be notified accordingly.