BILL NUMBER:A10067

TITLE  OF  BILL:   An act to amend the civil service law, in relation to
positions in the competitive class of the state

Purpose or general idea of bill:   To amend the  Civil  Service  Law  to
prohibit existing positions in the State civil service competitive class
from being reclassified into the noncompetitive or exempt class.

Summary of specific provisions:  This bill creates a new section 44-a of
the  Civil  service Law to prohibit any existing position in the compet-
itive class from being reclassified into the  noncompetitive  or  exempt
class.

Justification:    The  civil  service  system was created to protect the
public by insuring that public sector jobs are filled by qualified work-
ers. It also was intended to prevent cronyism and corruption by creating
a fair process for filling positions. The bedrock of the  civil  service
system  is  the  competitive  class. The key elements of the competitive
class are that the applicant must meet minimum qualifications, that  the
applicant must take an examination and get a passing score, and that the
job  must be filled by one of the three highest scoring applicants. Most
State positions are in the competitive class.

The courts have found that "there is a significant constitutional  pref-
erence for competitive classification". Brynien v New York State Depart-
              

ment of Civil Service, (Supreme Court, Albany County, 2009).  "Exemption
is  the  exception  and  is constitutionally permissible only when it is
established that competitive examination is not practicable"  McGowan  v
Burstein  71  NY2nd at 734 (1988). This preference for competitive exam-
ination is intended to insure that hiring is  based  on  competence  not
cronyism.

However,  the  New York State Department of Civil Service (DCS) recently
attempted to reclassify twenty-nine State job titles  from  the  compet-
itive  class  to  the noncompetitive class. if this reclassification had
been successful, these positions could  have  been  filled  without  any
examination  at  all,  opening  the  door  to  favoritism in hiring. The
reclassification was stopped by a court order  when  the  Supreme  Court
found  that  the Department had failed to show any evidence that compet-
itive examination was not feasible.

Although that particular reclassification has been blocked by the Court,
DCS retains the power to attempt to reclassify other  job  titles.  This
bill  is  intended  to  follow  the mandate of the State Constitution by
preventing such reclassifications. The rationale for this is simple  the
bill would apply to currently existing positions that are in the compet-
itive  class of the State civil service. Since those positions currently
exist it is obvious that it is feasible to utilize competitive exams  to
fill  them  because  they are currently being filled through the compet-
itive examination process. Any attempt to reclassify such  positions  to
the  noncompetitive  or exempt class is likely to be an attempt to avoid

the civil service merit process in violation of the clear intent of  the
Constitution.

Legislative history: New bill.

Fiscal implications: None

Effective date: immediate.