W. Va. Code R. § 143-1-9 - Appointments

9.1. Appointments to Positions Added to the Classified Service.

9.1.a. When additional state agencies or parts of state agencies are added to the classified service through affiliation by action of the legislature, executive order of the Governor with the consent of the Board and the appointing authority concerned, and when additional county or municipal agencies are added to the classified service through affiliation by agreement between the local government and the Director with the approval of the Board, a date for the addition shall be fixed by agreement.

9.1.b. All appointments made on and after that date to the positions added to the classified service shall be made in accordance with this rule.

9.1.c. The Director shall administer qualifying examinations to any person employed in a position added to the classified service. If recommended by the appointing authority, the Director may admit an employee to a qualifying examination regardless of the minimum qualifications for the class to which his or her position is allocated. The appointing authority shall appoint each person passing the qualifying examination for probationary employment. The qualifying examinations shall be completed within six (6) months after the date of addition of the position to the classified service. The examinations shall include appropriate assessment(s) of the person's job-related competencies. The appointing authority shall, within thirty (30) days after the examination or competency assessment determination, separate from employment any employee who fails to pass the qualifying examination or otherwise meet minimum competency standards unless there are no available eligibles on the register for the class, in which case his or her employment may be continued but he or she must be separated from employment within thirty (30) days after certification of available eligibles.

9.1.d. In making the appointments provided for in subdivision 9.1.c of this rule the appointing authority may count employment in the agency immediately prior to the appointments as part or all of the probationary period required under Section 10 of this rule. The appointing authority shall promptly report to the Director his or her decision for the records.

9.1.e. Assignment of the position to the appropriate classification shall be accomplished through reclassification as provided in subsection 4.6 of this rule.

9.2. Original Appointments.

9.2.a. Appointing authorities shall make all original appointments to classified positions in accordance with this rule. An appointing authority shall, for each position, select first from the eligibles on the preference register in accordance with subdivision 12.4.i of this rule. Upon exhaustion of the preference register, the appointing authority shall select for each position from the top ten (10) names on the register, including any persons scoring the same as the tenth name, or any persons scoring at or above the ninetieth percentile on the open competitive examination, as provided by subsection 8.2 of this rule. The appointing authority may exclude the names of those eligibles who failed to answer or who declined appointment or of those eligibles to whom the appointing authority offers an objection in writing based on subsection 6.4 of this rule and the objection is sustained by the Director.

9.2.b. In selecting persons from among those certified, the appointing authority shall give due consideration, based on job related criteria, to all available eligibles and may examine their applications and reports of investigations and may interview them. Final selection shall be reported in writing by the appointing authority to the Director and shall include a statement by the appointing authority or his or her designee certifying that the person charged with making the selection: complied with the requirements of this subdivision; did not make the selection based on favoritism shown or patronage granted; and, considered all available eligibles for the position.

9.2.c. If the eligible selected declines the appointment, the appointing authority shall transmit evidence of declination and other data to the Director for the permanent record. The Director may consider an eligible as having declined appointment if the eligible fails to reply to electronic communication [i.e., telephone or electronic mail] or a written inquiry by mail after five (5) days in addition to the time allowed for transmission of the letter to his or her last-known address and return of reply. If an eligible accepts an appointment but fails to report for duty at the time and place specified, without giving reasons for the delay satisfactory to the appointing authority and the Director, he or she shall be considered to have declined the appointment.

9.3. Provisional Appointments.

9.3.a. If there are urgent reasons for filling a position and there is no appropriate preference register and there are fewer than three (3) available eligibles on the competitive register established as a result of an examination for the position, and no other appropriate register exists, the appointing authority may submit to the Division of Personnel the name of a person to fill the position pending examination and establishment of a register. If that person's qualifications have been certified by the Director as meeting the minimum qualifications as to training and experience for the position, that person may be provisionally appointed to fill the existing vacancy until an appropriate register is established and appointment made from the register. The position must be classified and minimum qualifications established for the position in accordance with this rule before provisional appointments may be made. A provisional appointment shall not be continued for more than six (6) months from the date of appointment, nor shall successive provisional appointments of the same person be permitted, nor shall a position be filled by repeated provisional appointments.

9.3.b. Time spent on a leave of absence without pay shall not extend the period of a provisional appointment.

9.4. Temporary Employment. -- Appointing authorities may employ individuals for a limited period of time in accordance with the provisions of this rule and W. Va. Code § 29-6-1 et seq. Individuals employed under the provisions of this subsection are exempt from the classified service. Provided, temporary employees may be retained in a temporary appointment status while receiving workers' compensation temporary total disability benefits as a result of a personal injury or illness received in the course of and resulting from employment with the State or its political subdivisions in accordance with W. Va. Code § 23-4-1.

9.5. Posting of Job Openings. -- Whenever a job opening occurs in the classified service, the appointing authority shall post a notice within the building, facility or work area and throughout the agency that candidates will be considered to fill the job opening. Posting of job openings using electronic or other communications media shall satisfy the requirement to post a notice provided that the appointing authority makes regular and convenient access to the media used available to each classified employee in the agency, or otherwise provides notice to each classified employee in the agency. The notice shall be posted for at least ten (10) days before making an appointment to fill the job opening. The notice shall state that a job opening has occurred, describe the duties to be performed, and the class to be used to fill the job opening.

9.5.a. The term job opening refers to any vacancy to be filled by original appointment, promotion, demotion without prejudice, lateral class change, reinstatement, or transfer.

9.5.b. The posting notice shall include a description of the duties to be performed by the person selected, the minimum qualifications for the position, the job class to be used in filling the job opening, the compensation range that will be considered, the full-time equivalent for the position, and the job location.

9.5.c. An established closing date shall allow sufficient time to ensure that the job vacancy circulation has been posted throughout the agency for a minimum of ten (10) days. The naming of an individual to fill the position is the appointment and is not altered by the fact that the individual will not assume the duties until a later date. Therefore, the agency shall not make an appointment to a position prior to the closing date as listed on the posting. The appointing authority may accept applications after the closing date; however, all applications received on or prior to any established cut-off date must be accepted and considered.

9.5.d. The appointing authority shall give due consideration to those employees who apply and are eligible for the posted vacancy.

9.5.e. If a posted vacancy is not filled within six (6) months of the established closing date, the appointing authority shall re-post the vacancy prior to an appointment to the vacant position.

9.5.f. The vacancy posting requirements in this subdivision apply to all classified position vacancies except vacancies filled as a result of employees exercising bumping or recall rights, demotions with prejudice and/or disciplinary transfers for cause.

9.5.g. If an individual selected for a posted vacancy refuses the offer of employment, fails to report to work, or resigns or otherwise separates from employment within the first ten (10) work days of employment, the appointing authority is not required to repost the vacancy prior to making another appointment to the position. Provided that the date and time of separation occurs within the first ten (10) work days and the appointment is made within thirty (30) calendar days of the separation and the appointment is made from the pool of eligible applicants from which the first employee was hired. This time period supersedes the six-month limitation specified in subdivision e of this subsection.

Notes

W. Va. Code R. § 143-1-9