5-101: Certification and Selection in Hiring

Purpose

To govern the certification of candidate names from established eligible lists, interviewing candidates, and the legal responsibilities of all parties involved in the certification and selection process.

Authority

• Sacramento County Charter, Sections 71-F(b) and (c) - Selection 
• Sacramento County Civil Service Rule 6 – Eligible Lists 
• Sacramento County Civil Service Rule 7 – Method of Filling Vacancies​

Scope

This policy applies to each of the County agencies and departments who have the authority to establish eligible lists, request eligible list certification, and select and appoint candidates. 

Definitions

Certification: The submission of names of persons from the appropriate eligible list to an appointing authority. 

Certification List: The list of candidate names on an eligible list. 

Eligible Candidate: Any person on an eligible list of persons who have qualified by examination to be considered for appointment in a class.

Eligible List: A list of candidates who have qualified by examination to be considered for appointment to a class. 

Inactive Status: A situation wherein a candidate’s name is placed on hold (versus being removed from the eligible list) and is withheld from certification. 

Permanent Employee: Any County incumbent who has completed a probationary period. 

Rank: Candidates' relative position on a specific eligible list. 

Regular Employee: Any officer or incumbent who, on a part-time or full-time basis, occupies a permanent position that has been established in the annual salary resolution and is in a class that is intended for permanent or career employment. 

Requesting Department: Any department (i.e., appointing authority) who has requested a list of candidates for hiring considerations.

Unauthorized Appointment: Appointment to a Civil Service position as a result of a certification that was not consistent with the County’s Civil Service Rules and/or County Policy (i.e. hire effective date is prior to establishment of the eligible list or prior to the date the candidate was certified to the applicable position). 

Veteran: A person who served in the active military, naval, or air service and who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable (In accordance with Title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations). 

Waiver: The voluntary relinquishment by an eligible candidate of any right to consideration for appointment to a specific position.

Working Days: Those days and hours within a traditional workweek: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Policy

Eligible Lists – Establishment 

The list of eligible candidates for each class is established by Department of Personnel Services (DPS) after the examination process has been completed. Names of candidates are placed on eligible lists in order of the final ratings received. Final ratings are based on candidates’ examination scores. Final ratings shall be reported as whole numbers, consistent with Civil Service Rules. 

DPS shall promptly notify all applicants of their examination results, including whether or not examinees qualified in the examination and their final ranking on the eligible list. Exam result notifications do not inform examinees of certification or selection for a particular appointment. (Sacramento County Civil Service Rule 5.6(e)).

Eligible Lists – Certification

Names shall be certified by DPS in the following order: 

1. Persons on a department reemployment list. 
2. Persons on a countywide reemployment list. 
3. Persons on an Accommodation Transfer List (ATL) list. 
4. Persons on a promotional eligible list. 
5. Persons on an active eligible list. ​

Candidates are eligible for certification provided their examination score places them within the top three ranks (reachable) on the eligible list. In the event that two eligible lists co-exist, names will be certified first from the list that was established with the earlier date. Names may then be certified from other eligible lists such as transfer lists and countywide reemployment lists. Some eligible lists take precedence over all other lists in circumstances governed by the County’s Personnel Ordinance and/or the applicable collective bargaining agreements.

In the event that the requesting department clears a rank of candidates on the eligible list, candidates in the next lower rank become eligible for certification (reachable) and may be certified for hiring. 

Certification – Preference Points

Military veterans who have served during wartime shall be given preference in initial appointment to County service, in accordance with Sacramento County Civil Service Rule 5.3. 

Permanent employees who qualify for preference points under Civil Service Rules are eligible for certification (reachable) provided the reachable ranks of the open eligible list consist entirely of candidates who are non-permanent County employees. (Sacramento County Civil Service Rule 5.2(b)2). 

Certification – Candidate Correspondence

Requesting Department may correspond with certified eligible candidates in writing (via email) or verbally (via phone). Written/electronic certification notification correspondence is required to verify the clearance of a rank to a specific requisition. Certification notification correspondence must provide the time limits for responding to a County job opportunity and other rights and responsibilities of qualified candidates, including the right to waive certification. (Sacramento County Civil Service Rules 6.4 and 6.6). 

Certification and Appointment – Waivers 

Only a candidate selected from the appropriate eligible list has a right to waive an appointment. No interviewer or appointing authority may directly or indirectly attempt to influence a candidate’s decision to accept or waive appointment. (Sacramento County Civil Service Rule 6.6 (a), (b), (c), and (d)). 

Eligible candidates who decline job offers will be marked as having waived the position. Eligible candidates who waive temporary, intermittent or on-call positions for any reason are still eligible for certification to permanent positions. Eligible candidates who waive specific appointment because of location or work hours may not be recertified to a department for the same position he/she declined previously. However, the candidate will remain in active status and available for future certifications. 

Waivers received for one (1) position for which simultaneous authorization of two (2) or more positions, in the same class and location, were authorized results in the waiving of both positions. 

The same certification may be authorized for filling two (2) or more requisitions received for positions in the same class and location within a few days of one another. A candidate who waives one position is not considered to have waived both; the hiring authority must obtain separate waivers for each position. 

Requests not to be Certified 

Candidates may specify the departments, locations, types of positions, and/or work hours for which they do not want to be certified. Such requests must be received in writing/electronically to DPS. DPS indicates on future certifications that the candidate is not interested in specific conditions of employment. 

Changing Candidates’ Status and/or Inactivating Candidates on Eligible Lists

The authority to remove names from eligible lists resides with DPS. 

The hiring department may request that DPS withhold an eligible candidate’s name from certification or place the name on inactive status for reasons cited in Sacramento County Civil Service Rules (Sections 4.3 and 6.3). The provisions in the Civil Service Rules will be applied individually to each separate case. Until DPS approves and processes the request, the candidate’s name will remain active on the eligible list. 

DPS must notify the candidate in writing/electronically when his/her name is removed and/or inactivated. The candidate may appeal this decision to the Civil Service Commission. 

DPS may place candidates into inactive status if they do not respond to the Notice of Certification. Candidates who are placed into inactive status will remain eligible for appointment to the requisition(s) they were certified to prior to being placed on inactive status. Candidates will remain eligible for appointment for 90 days from the date they were certified to the requisition(s), provided one of the following occurred:

• Candidate’s status changed to inactive as a result of the candidate not responding to a certification notification. 
• Candidate’s status changed to inactive as a result of their name expiring off the eligible list (i.e. 365 days for continuous exams). 

Extension beyond the 90 day appointment eligibility timeframe requires Director of Personnel Services’ approval. 

Interviewing Candidates 

Discriminatory inquiries in interviewing and selection, not relevant to job performance, are illegal, and are contrary to County policies. Questions that may be construed as discriminatory, such as those regarding race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, marital status, disability, gender, age, genetic information, and sick leave utilization are not to be asked. 

Interviewers and interview questions are to represent available positions accurately. Hiring departments are encouraged to reference the job description to develop interview questions and to clearly explain tasks and duties. 

Selecting and Appointing Candidates 

Hiring decisions are not to be based on and/or to consider any of the following: race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, marital status, disability, gender, age, genetic information, and sick leave utilization. 

The requesting department (i.e., appointing authority) is not obliged to hold a position open until candidates have been interviewed by all the departments to which their names have been certified. 

Pre-Employment Exams 

Pre-employment medical/drug examinations: Regular employees, newly appointed to County service, are required to pass a medical/drug exam before beginning work. Pre-employment medical and drug screenings are coordinated by the hiring department at no cost to the appointee. Certain temporary appointments may require a pre-placement medical/drug examination based on the requirements of the position (see Sacramento County Personnel Policy Obtaining Pre-Employment Medical Examinations). 

Unauthorized Appointments 

Unauthorized appointments are not permitted. The appointing authority may be held responsible to reimburse the County for compensation expenses associated with unauthorized appointments. An unauthorized appointment is not a permissible reason for making an emergency appointment. 

Exceptions 

Civil Service Rule 5.4(g) is a non-competitive exam process allowed for Trainee to First Working Level classes. DPS’ approval is not required for appointments made in accordance with the Civil Service Rule 5.4(g). According to this rule, departments may promote incumbents in accordance with Civil Service Rule 5.4(g) from a specific trainee level to the first working level after the incumbent has completed the training period. Such an appointment cannot be effective until an eligible list has been established. 

The following personnel actions are not part of the eligible list certification process: level changes within classes, demotions for cause, status granted by the Civil Service Commission, and emergency appointments.