City seal City of Philadelphia Personnel Department
 Main Page > Civil Service Commission > Regulations > 11.   |  www.phila.gov 

Table Of Contents

 1. Purpose

 2. Definitions

 3. Preparation, Adoption and Revision of Regulations

 4. Exemptions from Civil Service

 5. Classification Plan

 6. Pay Plan

 7. General Requirements for Applicants

 8. Applications

 9. Examinations

10. Eligible Lists

11. Requisitions, Certification and Appointment

12. Limited-Term Appointments

13. Assignments and Transfers

14. Probationary Period

15. Resignation, Reinstatement, Restoration and Retirement

16. Layoffs

17. Dismissals, Demotions, Suspensions and Appeals

18. Hours of Work and City Service

19. Holidays

20. Vacation Leave

21. Sick Leave

22. Leaves of Absence

23. Performance Reports

24. Working Conditions

25. Records and Reports

26. Training of Employees

27. Safety, Health, Welfare and Recreation

28. Labor Relations

29. Political Activity

30. Residence Requirement

31. Interim Regulations

32. Injury and Disability

33. Miscellaneous Regulations

Alphabetical Index

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z



11. REQUISITION, CERTIFICATION AND APPOINTMENT

11.01 - REQUISITION OR REQUEST FOR CERTIFICATION.  Whenever a vacancy in the Civil Service is to be filled, the appointing authority shall prepare a requisition for the certification of the names of persons eligible for the position. Such requisition shall be made upon forms provided for or specified by the Director and shall specify the class title, compensation, duties and responsibilities of the position and such additional information as will enable the Personnel Department to act appropriately upon such requisition.

11.02 - LISTS USED FOR CERTIFICATION.  The Director shall determine the basis on which individual examinations shall be given and the types of eligible lists that will be established as a result of the examinations. This information must be specified on the announcement of the examination. Certifications are to be made from the different types of lists in the following order, provided however, that as to the order of the lists described in Sections 11.0232 and 11.024 the Director may make exceptions:

11.021 - LAYOFF LIST.  First, certification shall be made from the proper LAYOFF LIST, if any, in accordance with Regulations relating to layoffs, to vacancies, including those filled by provisional appointees, existing in any City department; provided however, that persons on such list shall be the first to be recalled to active service as vacancies occur in the department from which they were laid off.

11.022 - CAREER ADVANCEMENT LIST.  Notwithstanding contrary provisions of these Regulations, for the in-place promotion of an employee in a career advancement series class to the next higher-level class within the series, certification shall be made first from the CAREER ADVANCEMENT LIST.  However, appointments to unfilled positions at any level in the series shall not be made from this list.

11.023 - PROMOTIONAL ELIGIBLE LISTS.  Second, certification shall be made from either of the following lists for the proper class, as the appointing authority may deem appropriate.

11.0231 - DEPARTMENTAL.  This list shall consist only of persons with permanent status who are employed in the department in which the vacancy exists and who passed the examination on a promotional basis.

11.02311 - Any person who, during the life of an eligible list is transferred, promoted or demoted from one department to another, will not be eligible for certification from that list under Section 11.0231 for a period of ninety (90) days.

11.0232 - INTERDEPARTMENTAL.  This list shall consist of all persons with permanent status who passed the examination on a promotional basis.

11.024 - OPEN COMPETITIVE ELIGIBLE LIST.  Third, certification shall be made from an OPEN COMPETITIVE LIST of the proper class.

11.025 - APPROPRIATE OR RELATED ELIGIBLE LIST.  Fourth, in the absence of an eligible list for the class of position requisitioned, the Director may certify to the position eligibles from an APPROPRIATE or RELATED LIST.

11.03 - CERTIFICATION.  Upon receipt of a requisition from an appointing authority for the names of persons to fill a vacancy from an eligible list, the Director shall certify to the appointing authority from the proper eligible list, in accordance with Section 11.02 of the Regulation, the names of the two persons thereon who are highest in rank.  Certification shall be made without regard to sex, unless sex is specified in the requisition with the approval of the Director.

11.031  Where two (2) non-veterans are certified, either non-veteran may be appointed.

11.032 - SELECTIVE FACTOR CERTIFICATION.  When a certification of eligibles with special experience, training, or skill is requested in writing by the appointing authority as being necessary for satisfactory performance in a particular position in an established class or series of classes, and the Director determines that the reasons given fully justify the request, a certification may be made of the two highest ranking eligibles on the appropriate list who possess the special qualification.  Selection of the eligible to fill the vacancy will then be made in accordance with the Civil Service Regulations.

11.04 - CERTIFICATION TO MORE THAN ONE VACANCY.  If an appointing authority desires at one time to fill more than one vacancy from the same eligible list, he shall include in his requisition a written statement of the number of vacancies to be filled.  The Director shall then certify to him the largest number of names that could be certified to fill such vacancies had separate requisition been made in the case of each vacancy.  The appointing authority shall thereupon make appointments from that certification to fill all of the vacancies at the same time; but he shall appoint only such persons from the eligible list certified to him as he could have appointed had he filed a separate requisition for each separate vacancy.

11.05 - NUMBER OF TIMES AN ELIGIBLE MAY BE CERTIFIED.  The name of a person certified but not appointed shall remain on the eligible list and shall be again certified therefrom together with one or more additional names as required by Sections 11.03 and 11.04 of this Regulation, upon receipt of other requisitions, but an eligible who has been rejected twice by an appointing authority in favor of others on the same eligible list shall not again be certified to that appointing authority, except upon written request from the appointing authority.  However, the passing over of a non-veteran eligible in order to appoint a veteran shall not constitute a rejection.  (Sec. 7-401 (h) C.C.)

11.051 - SECOND CERTIFICATION OF DISTRICT COUNCIL 47 REPRESENTED EMPLOYEE.  In the case of a second certification to an appointing authority of a District Council 47 represented employee, the appointing authority will notify the eligible so certified as to whether or not he was selected, and that eligible, if not selected, may request and shall be granted an interview regarding his non-appointment.

11.06 - NUMBER OF TIMES AN ELIGIBLE MAY DECLINE APPOINTMENT.  If an eligible waives or declines appointment to three permanent positions to which he has been certified form the same eligible list, that person's name shall be removed from the eligible list.  (Refer to Regulation 10.093).

11.07 - NOTIFICATION, CERTIFICATION AND REFERRAL.  Eligibles to be certified shall be notified by phone, in person, or by mail of vacancies and shall be queried as to their interest or willingness to accept such employment.  Eligibles indicating no preference as to work location or organization shall be certified for vacancies in accordance with their standing on the list, as provided in Sections 11.03 and 11.04 of this Regulation.  Eligibles on lists used by more than one department or organizational unit, interested in a vacancy for a specific position shall be certified and referred to the appropriate appointing authority in the order of their standing on the list of those eligibles willing to accept employment in that specific position.  An eligible thus certified and referred shall waive, in writing, any additional certifications pending interview and/or appointment by the appointing authority.

11.08 - OBJECTION TO AND SUBSTITUTION OF ELIGIBLES.  In case objection is made by the appointing authority to any person certified, a written statement setting out specific reasons therefor shall be filed with the Director, who shall sustain or overrule the objection.  Any cause contained in Regulation 10.09 shall be deemed sufficient reason for objection, but the Director may sustain objections for other cause which would, if assigned as a reason for dismissing an employee, be acceptable to the Director.  If the objection is sustained by the Director, the name of the eligible shall be stricken from the eligible list or the certification, as the Director may deem appropriate, and the next highest name on the eligible list shall be certified.

11.09 - APPOINTMENT OF ELIGIBLES.  Within ten (10) working days after the receipt of a certification, the appointing authority, or his designated representative, shall indicate selection from the names certified to him.  When, in accordance with the provisions of Section 11.07, persons are certified to the employing department or when there is an insufficient number of eligibles to fill existing vacancies in a class in which positions are found in two or more City departments, selection must be made within five (5) working days, provided however, that if selection is not made within said five (5) working days, such certification may be nullified and the certification of such eligible(s) may be made to another department.  In the event the appointing authority makes no appointment within the specified time and no substitution of names on the certification in accordance with Section 11.08 is permitted, further certifications will not be made until the failure to make such appointment is explained to the satisfaction of the Personnel Director.

11.091 - INTERVIEWING REFERRED ELIGIBLES.  All eligibles referred to an appointing authority shall be interviewed by him or her or by some other responsible designee, provided however, that he or she need not interview an eligible who:

  1. was previously interviewed personally as a referral from the same eligible list, or
  2. is a non-veteran certified with a veteran, or
  3. is certified from a departmental promotional list and whose record of performance is personally known to the interviewer.

11.092 - BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS.   Every person offered employment with the City shall be required to complete a background investigation questionnaire, the form and content of which shall be prepared by the Personnel Director.  The Office of the Inspector General, or the Personnel Director, or their designee shall perform such background investigation, based on the completed questionnaire and the requirements of the position, as the Inspector General or the Personnel Director deem appropriate.

11.092-1 - Background Investigation as a Condition of Employment.  The background investigation questionnaire must be completed truthfully and within the timeframe established by the Director as a condition of employment by each person offered employment with the City.  The questionnaire must be completed and returned to the Personnel Department prior to the start of employment.  The prospective employee must authorize the release of such personal data required to complete a background investigation sufficient for the needs of the position, unless the release of the data would be prohibited by state or federal law.

The conditional offer of employment shall be rescinded if the eligible does not complete the questionnaire and consent to the release of the requested data.

11.092-2 - Information Required.  The questionnaire shall seek such background information as is appropriate for the position.  For all positions, such information shall include, but need not be limited to:

  • All prior names used by the prospective employee;
  • All addresses used by the prospective employee currently and for the ten years preceding the offer of employment;
  • Date of birth;
  • Social Security Number;
  • Driver´s license number and State of issue;
  • Highest education completed at the high school level or above;
  • Previous employment history for a minimum of three years prior to the offer of employment;
  • Criminal record.

Additional information necessary to perform a credit investigation will be collected when required by the Appointing Authority or his or her designee, with the approval of the Director or the City Inspector General.  The need for such additional information must be based on the level of the sensitivity of the position, including but not limited to the level of fiscal, security or safety responsibility, the responsibility for the health, welfare and safety for citizens, and for positions working in facilities providing such services to citizens.

11.092-3 - Use of Information Discovered.  The Director, Inspector General or their designee will complete the investigation and notify the Appointing Authority of the results of the investigation within the time frame established by the Director.

The Appointing Authority or his/her designee will notify the prospective employee of any information revealed by the investigation that may be the basis for an adverse employment action or that requires further investigation.

The prospective employee will be responsible for contacting the investigator and for resolving any disputes resulting from the investigation.  If the prospective employee does not contact the investigator within five working days after the date of the notification, the conditional offer of employment will be rescinded.

If information discovered during the investigation is determined to provide basis for rescinding the conditional offer of employment, the Appointing Authority or his/her designee will notify the prospective employee of that determination in writing.

If information is discovered after the employee begins working with the City that warrants temporarily removing the employee from active service to continue the investigation, the employee shall be placed on a leave of absence without pay in accordance with Regulation 22.  The employee will be responsible for contacting the investigator and for resolving any disputes resulting from the investigation.

If information is discovered after the employee begins working with the City that warrants termination of employment, the employee will be rejected during the probationary period in accordance with Regulation 14.04, or dismissed in accordance with Regulation 17.02.  The Director may restore to the eligible list, or remove from the eligible list, the name of an employee rejected during the probationary period as a result of information discovered during the background investigation.

The Appointing Authority will use the background investigation report, along with any and all other relevant information, to make a final employment decision, in accordance with existing City job requirements and eligibility criterion.

11.092-4 - No Conflict with Other Regulations.  Nothing in this regulation shall relieve any applicant from the responsibility of providing the information needed by the Director to evaluate the applicant´s education and experience to determine if the applicant is eligible to compete in examinations for positions with the City.



11.10 - VETERANS' PREFERENCE FOR APPOINTMENT FROM AN OPEN-COMPETITIVE ELIGIBLE LIST.  In those cases where the two eligibles certified from an open-competitive eligible list to fill a vacancy are veterans and/or non-veterans, and the veterans have been granted Veterans' Preference, the following conditions shall control:

11.101 -  Where two (2) veterans are certified, either veteran may be appointed.

11.102 -  Where a veteran and a non-veteran are certified from an open-competitive eligible list, the veteran shall be appointed, provided however, that if the veteran declines the appointment, the appointing authority may either appoint the non-veteran or demand another eligible to replace the declination.

11.103 -  When a veteran and a non-veteran are certified from an open-competitive eligible list, the appointing authority may request that the certification of the non-veteran be cancelled, and that the next highest-ranking veteran remaining on the eligible list be certified as a replacement so that the appointing authority has a choice of the top two available eligibles.  Either of the two certified veterans may be appointed.

11.11 - EFFECTIVE DATE OF APPOINTMENT.  An appointing officer shall immediately report each appointment to the Director on the form prescribed by him.  Appointments shall become effective as of the date the appointee enters upon the duties of his position provided however, that at the time of appointment, the date on which the appointee will actually enter the duties of the position may be deferred by an approved leave of absence, without pay, or any other emolument of the position, for a period not to exceed one hundred eighty (180) days, the probationary period to commence at the time the appointee actually enters upon the duties of the position.

11.12 - APPROVAL OF APPOINTMENTS BY PERSONNEL DIRECTOR.  No officer or employee of the Auditing Department shall make or approve or take any part in making or approving any payment for personal services to any person holding a position in the Civil Service if the Director has given notice to the City Controller that such person was not appointed and employed in accordance with the Civil Service Regulations. (Sec. 7-302(2) C.C.)

11.131 - Provisional Appointment Procedure.  The appointing authority shall furnish to the Director, on the appropriate forms, a description of the duties and requirements of provisional positions and shall furnish additional information if necessary to enable the Director to act appropriately upon such requisition.  No appointment of a provisional appointee shall become effective prior to the date of approval by the Director of the appointment.

11.17 - APPOINTMENT AGE REQUIREMENTS.  There shall be no maximum age limit for appointment to a Civil Service position in the City service, with the exception of the following classes of positions for which age requirements have been approved by the Commission:

Class Minimum Age on Date of Appointment Maximum Age on Date of Appointment
Police Officer 19 40
Firefighter 18 40
Correctional Officer 20 None


11.18 - INTERVIEWING INDIVIDUALS REFERRED FROM LAYOFF LISTS.  In those cases where individuals designated to fill a vacancy are from layoff lists the following conditions shall control:

11.181 -  Departmental layoff lists will be maintained for each class in which layoffs occur.  The individual whose layoff score is highest on his/her departmental layoff list will be appointed first to a vacancy in that agency.

11.182 -  Where no departmental layoff list exists the individual with the highest layoff score on the City-wide layoff list will be appointed to fill vacancies as they occur in that class, except that a departmental promotional list may be used in accordance with regulation 11.03 to promote, in place, an incumbent of a position requiring college background from the trainee level or to the journeyman level of the series.

11.183 -  In the event that no layoff list exists for a class in which a vacancy occurs the Director may declare an existing layoff list for a related class as appropriate.  Appointment will then be made in the manner prescribed for filling vacancies from layoff lists.



END OF REGULATION 11.

Philadelphia Civil Service Regulations
Transmittal no.305 (Jun-13-2008)