Relates to civil service provisional employees

Section 2 of the bill would add new paragraphs (c-2) and (c-3) to Civil Service Law § 65(5). New paragraph (c-2) would authorize the DCAS employers to administer a civil service examination exclusively to incumbent employees who, at the time of application to take the examination, have served provisionally in that title for two or more years. If the employee taking the "qualified incumbent examination" meets the minimum educational and other requirements set forth in the notice of the examination, as established by the DCAS employers, the DCAS employers would be authorized to appoint permanently an employee with two or more years of provisional service from the list resulting from the examination. Provisional service performed by an employee during a period in which there existed an appropriate eligible list of candidates for the title would not count toward the two-year service provisional requirement, unless the list was inadequate to fill all positions then held on a provisional basis or was exhausted immediately after its establishment. Service in a temporary title established pending proposed reclassification of a title would not count toward the two-year provisional service requirement. The titles for which DCAS could administer such a test to incumbent employees would be limited to those expressly identified in Section 4 of the bill. DCAS could not administer a qualified incumbent examination if an open competitive or promotional examination for the title has already been administered and a list is awaiting establishment or there exists an established list resulting from the examination with three or more candidates that are certifiable to the agency with the provisionals. Any list resulting from a promotional examination for a title would have to be exhausted before a list resulting from a qualified incumbent examination can be certified. A person appointed from a list resulting from a qualified incumbent examination would be credited with the time served provisionally in the title toward probation, up to a maximum of nine months.

New paragraph (c-3) would authorize the DCAS employers to submit to the State Civil Service Commission ("State Commission") a revised plan, to be implemented by November 1, 2018, to further reduce the number of provisional appointments that have continued beyond the time periods permitted by § 65(1)-(4). This plan could contain any of the components of the original plan and could also include other appropriate means of implementation. The State Commission would be required to approve or disapprove the plan within sixty days of its submission, and this approval process would otherwise conform to the procedures set forth in § 65(5)(c).

Section 3 of the bill would make conforming amendments to subdivisions (d), (f) and (g) of Civil Service Law § 65(5) in light of the proposed addition of a new paragraph (c-I). This would ensure that the plan modification procedures, as well as the time limitation suspension and authorization of negotiated disciplinary procedures, would continue to apply.

Section 4 of the bill would set forth the list of 194 titles for which DCAS would be authorized to administer a qualified incumbent examination pursuant to new paragraph (c-2).

Section 5 of the bill would make a conforming amendment to § 3 of Chapter 5 of the Laws of 2008 with respect to the negotiated agreements entered into as a result of the plan, reflecting the amendment to paragraph (g) of 65(5) proposed by Section 3 of this bill. It would also amend the expiration date of Chapter 5 of the Laws of 2008, which authorized the original plan, and provide that this act would expire on December 31, 2018.

Section 6 of the bill would amend the expiration date of Part I of Chapter 56 of the Laws of 2008 (to December 31, 2018), which added subdivision 6 of § 65 authorizing the State Commission to charge the City for services and costs (up to $600,000 annually) associated with approving and monitoring the plan submitted by the City and the DCAS employers.

Section 7 of the bill is a severability clause.

Section 8 of the bill provides that the act would take effect immediately.

REASONS FOR SUPPORT

The purpose of this bill, and the 2008 legislation it amends, is to address issues raised by the New York Court of Appeals in its decision in City of Long Beach v. Civil Service Employees Association, 8 N.Y.3d 465 (2007). In that case, the Court concluded that the terms of a collective bargaining agreement that afforded tenure rights to provisional employees of the City of Long Beach after one year of service were contrary to New York statutory and decisional law, and therefore the dispute was not arbitrable because granting the relief sought on behalf of the provisional employees under the 'tenure' provisions of the agreement would violate the Civil Service Law. The Court also emphasized the need for compliance with the time limitations imposed by Civil Service Law § 65 with respect to filling vacancies, holding examinations and removing provisional employees from positions in titles for which examinations should be held.

Having received approval in 2008 from the Slate Commission to implement an orderly and expeditious plan to reduce the number of provisional employees, the City and certain other related employers made substantial progress toward their goal through various means authorized by Chapter 5 of the Laws of 2008. As of the February 29, 2016 report required by the City Charter, the number of provisional employees under DCAS's jurisdiction was 23,052, a substantial reduction of almost 15,000 from the number in May 2008. This bill would allow the City and such other employers to update and continue to implement the plan, with appropriate revisions to timeframes and plan strategies. Although DCAS has administered hundreds of open competitive and promotional civil service tests during recent years, and will continue to administer tests, those devices have not proved adequate to reduce the number of provisional employees as rapidly as anticipated or desired. The bill would also authorize DCAS, on a one-time basis, to administer a qualified incumbent test exclusively to approximately 4,700 employees who have served provisionally for at least two years in the title for which the exam is given. The bill would ensure the continued quality and effectiveness of governmental operations while the revised plan is being developed and implemented. At the same time it would further the goals of maintaining continuity in the provision of essential public services and harmonious labor relations, particularly as it would allow limited negotiated protections regarding disciplinary procedures for provisional employees and the waiver of time limitations that would otherwise apply in relation to provisional employment. The limited authorizations contained in the bill, only in the context of implementing the plan, would further the fundamental goals of the civil service system in New York state and are therefore consistent with the "merit and fitness" provision set forth in Article V, Section 6 of the State Constitution

FISCAL IMPACT

None to State

Effective date

Immediately