Legislation

§ 61. Appointment and promotion. 1. Appointment or promotion from
eligible lists. Appointment or promotion from an eligible list to a
position in the competitive class shall be made by the selection of one
of the three persons certified by the appropriate civil service
commission as standing highest on such eligible list who are willing to
accept such appointment or promotion; provided, however, that the state
or a municipal commission may provide, by rule, that where it is
necessary to break ties among eligibles having the same final
examination ratings in order to determine their respective standings on
the eligible list, appointment or promotion may be made by the selection
of any eligible whose final examination rating is equal to or higher
than the final examination rating of the third highest standing eligible
willing to accept such appointment or promotion. Appointments and
promotions shall be made from the eligible list most nearly appropriate
for the position to be filled.

2. Prohibition against out-of-title work. No person shall be
appointed, promoted or employed under any title not appropriate to the
duties to be performed and, except upon assignment by proper authority
during the continuance of a temporary emergency situation, no person
shall be assigned to perform the duties of any position unless he has
been duly appointed, promoted, transferred or reinstated to such
position in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and the rules
prescribed thereunder. No credit shall be granted in a promotion
examination for out-of-title work.

3. Notification to eligible candidates. Persons on an eligible list
who are certified pursuant to section sixty of this chapter and are
considered and not selected for appointment or promotion pursuant to
this section shall, whenever another candidate is appointed or promoted,
be given or sent written notice by the appointing authority of such
non-selection. In a city containing more than one county, persons on an
eligible list who are made ineligible for further certification pursuant
to a rule of the appropriate municipal commission shall be given or sent
written notice of such ineligibility. Sending written notice by ordinary
mail to the last address of record shall be adequate to comply with the
requirements of this subdivision.

* 4. Appointment and promotion letter. (a) An appointing authority who
extends an offer of appointment or promotion to a position in the
classified service to any person shall provide such person with an
appointment letter within fourteen days of the effective date of such
appointment. Such appointment letter shall include:

(i) the appointment type being offered, whether permanent,
provisional, temporary, temporary pending commission approval, or any
other appointment type authorized by law, rule, or regulation;

(ii) the position type and, if the position is not a permanent
position, the expected duration of the appointment, and, if the position
is not a full-time position, the expected percentage of time at work per
week;

(iii) the jurisdictional class of the position;

(iv) if a probationary period is required upon appointment, the
minimum and maximum duration of such period and information regarding an
appointee's tenure rights, if any, upon completion of the probationary
period;

(v) the starting salary or wages that the person would earn upon
appointment, provided that such salary or wages shall be specific to the
individual being offered appointment, and the full salary range of the
title;

(vi) if the individual to whom appointment is offered has prior graded
service at a higher salary grade than the position to which an offer of
appointment has been made, an explanation of how such individual's
salary shall be reduced upon appointment, if any;

(vii) the bargaining unit representing the title to which such person
is being appointed and, if applicable, the contact information or
website of the employee organization that represents the bargaining unit
of such position pursuant to article fourteen of this chapter;

(viii) if the offer of appointment is to a trainee title:

(1) the length of the traineeship;

(2) the title and salary grade of the performance level to which such
traineeship advances;

(3) all requirements that a trainee must meet to be advanced;

(4) the schedule of performance reviews for such traineeship; and

(5) information regarding performance advances during such
traineeship;

(ix) if the person offered appointment would have a hold item on
another position from which they were placed on leave at the time of
appointment, information regarding the date at which such hold would
expire and circumstances under which the appointee would be eligible to
return to the hold; and

(x) information regarding employee benefits and links to applicable
websites, including, but not limited to:

(1) health insurance, dental and other health related benefits
provided by the employer;

(2) retirement system membership and benefits;

(3) the New York state deferred compensation plan; and

(4) any other information required by law, rule, or regulation, and
any information that the appointing authority deems reasonable to
include.

(b) If an appointee who receives an appointment or promotion letter
believes any of the information contained therein to be incorrect, such
appointee shall be permitted to notify the appointing authority of such
error and, upon notification, the appointing authority shall review the
concern to determine if any information contained therein is incorrect.
If any information contained therein is deemed by the appointing
authority to be incorrect, the appointing authority shall reissue the
appointment or promotion letter to the appointee containing any
corrections necessary to ensure that all information contained therein
is correct within sixty days of notification by the appointee. If the
appointing authority finds no errors in the appointment or promotion
letter, the appointing authority shall inform the appointee that the
information is correct.

* NB Effective March 19, 2026