(Amended by Resolution No. 5184, 11/23/77)
(a) 
Posting. Whenever an examination is to be given for an entrance position in the classified service, the Director of Human Resources shall cause notice of such examination to be published and posted in accordance with rule II, section 5 of these rules.
(b) 
Content. Announcements shall specify the title and probable rates of pay of the rank, the nature of the work to be performed, the minimum qualifications required for admission to the examination, the methods of making application, and final dates on which applications will be accepted, and other pertinent information consistent with the provisions of these rules.
(c) 
Qualifications. In addition to the requirements specified in these rules, the applicant at the time must possess the qualifications required by the Charter of the City of Stockton and the employment announcement.
(CS07-079, 06/07/07; CS2013-03-21-701; amended by Resolutions CS2016-06-16-1201)
(a) 
Form. No application form shall contain questions or inquiries that in any fashion can operate to discriminate against any individual by reason of color, race, sex, religion or national origin. All questions or inquiries must relate to qualifications necessary to perform duties of the position.
(b) 
Filing of Applications. No person shall be admitted to an examination for employment unless such person shall have prepared and filed an application for said examination upon a form as deemed necessary by the Commission, which application shall not have been rejected by the Commission or Director for cause in accordance with the provisions of these rules. Applicants must file applications in the Human Resources Department no later than the final filing date prescribed in the examination announcement. The applicant shall certify as to the correctness of all statements made in the application by signature.
(5362, 3/1/79; CS2013-03-21-701; amended by Resolutions CS2016-06-16-1201)
(a) 
Age. Applicants for police officer positions must have attained age 20 by application final filing date and age 21 by date of appointment. Applicants for firefighter positions must have attained age 18 by application final filing date.
(b) 
Education. Applicants for entry police officer and/or firefighter positions must have attained skills, knowledge, and abilities of a level no less than that equivalent to a twelfth grade education, unless otherwise require by law.
(c) 
Health and Physical Fitness. The Commission shall adopt such medical and physical standards for fire and police classes as to ensure the candidate's abilities to effectively perform the duties of the position. Such medical and physical standards, when adopted, shall be made part of these rules by reference hereto.
(d) 
Behavioral Fitness. Applicants must have demonstrated appropriate moral and social conduct in previous personal and work activities as such fitness may relate to the fulfillment of duties of the position, as determined by the Commission.
(e) 
Police Officer—Lateral Entry. To be eligible as a lateral entry Police Officer an applicant must possess a certificate attesting to successful completion of a California P.O.S.T. approved basic academy, one year of experience as a law enforcement officer, must have satisfactorily completed a probationary period for a peace officer classification performing the full range of duties, including patrol, with a California governmental law enforcement agency, and pass an unassembled examination. A lateral entry appointment may be made at a salary step above the first step as determined by the Chief of Police and approved by the Human Resources Director and City Manager.
(f) 
Fire Fighter—Lateral Entry. To be eligible as a lateral entry Fire Fighter, an applicant must possess a California Class B Restricted driver's license, a current and valid Emergency Medical Technician I Certification, a California State Fire Marshal Fire Fighter I Certification, and 24 months of full-time employment within the last 36 months as a sworn uniformed Fire Fighter classification in any City, county, state, or federal agency comparable to the City of Stockton classification, and pass an unassembled examination. A lateral entry appointment may be made at a salary step above the first step as determined by the Fire Chief and approved by the Human Resources Director and City Manager.
(g) 
Fire Fighter/Paramedic—Lateral Entry. To be eligible as a lateral entry Fire Fighter/Paramedic, an applicant must possess a California Class B Restricted driver's license; a California State Fire Marshal Fire Fighter I Certification; a current and valid California Emergency Medical Technician/Paramedic (EMT-P) License; must obtain accreditation by the San Joaquin County Emergency Medical Services Agency to operate as a Fire Fighter/Paramedic for the City of Stockton within 90 days from date of hire; 24 months of full-time employment within the last 36 months as a sworn uniformed Fire Fighter classification in any city, county, state, or federal agency comparable to the City of Stockton classification; and must pass a Paramedic written and practical examination administered by the Stockton Fire Department. A lateral entry appointment may be made at a salary step above the first step as determined by the Fire Chief and approved by the Human Resources Director and City Manager.
(CS01-077, 7/19/01; CS04-049, 05/06/04; CS06-020, 01/19/06; CS2013-03-21-701; amended by Resolutions CS2016-06-16-1201)
(a) 
The Director of Human Resources may refuse to give an examination to an applicant or the Commission may refuse to certify for appointment and remove a name from the eligible list or reemployment list anyone whose name is on the list for substantive reasons including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) 
Dismissal from employment for delinquency or misconduct.
(2) 
Mental or physical incompetence for the position for which application is made.
(3) 
Dishonest, criminal, immoral or willfully improper conduct.
(4) 
Intentional false statement, deception or fraud in securing the examination, certification or appointment.
(5) 
Habitual use of intoxicating liquors or use of narcotics.
(6) 
Failure to pass and/or successfully complete a background investigation, which shall include a polygraph and/or voice stress analysis and psychological examination.
(b) 
Appealability. The removal of a name from an eligible list or reemployment list due to failure to complete and/or successfully pass a background investigation is not appealable to the Commission.
(c) 
Disqualification of Previously Discharged Employee. No person discharged from the service of the City for cause pursuant to Section 2522 of Article XXV shall be entitled to again take the examination for any rank from the department from which the individual was discharged without the approval of the appointing authority and the consent of the Commission.
(CS03-064, 09/18/03; CS03-075, 10/16/03; CS05-093, 07/21/05; CS10-021, 08/19/10; CS2013-03-21-701; CS2014-06-19-1102; amended by Resolutions CS2016-06-16-1201)
When the Civil Service Commission of the City of Stockton believes for any reason that an applicant for a position in the Police and/or Fire Departments does not intend to take the position when offered, it may move to call the applicant before the Commission at its next regular or special meeting. Notice shall be given to the applicant.
At the next regular or special meeting, the Commission may ask the applicant if the applicant intends to take the position if it is offered. If the applicant fails to reply in the affirmative, the Commission may, in its discretion:
(a) 
If the examination has not yet been taken for the position, reject said applicant to take such examination; or
(b) 
If the examination has been taken but it has not yet been corrected, order the Director of Human Resources not to correct the said examination paper; or
(c) 
If the applicant has been placed on the eligibility list for the position, order the applicant's name to be stricken from said eligibility list.
(5362, 3/1/79; CS2013-03-21-701; amended by Resolutions CS2016-06-16-1201)
(a) 
Content of Examination. To the extent authorized by the Commission, the chief examiner or his or her authorized representatives, may use a combination of valid testing instruments, which may include, but not be limited to, written tests, which shall count 50% of the total passing score, oral examinations, performance examination and agility tests designed to measure individual characteristics necessary to perform the specific duties of the job, for the purpose of obtaining the most qualified employees for the City of Stockton Fire and Police Departments. Methods of ranking and weighing of scores shall be determined by the Commission and will be stated on the examination announcement.
(b) 
The date fixed for an examination may be stipulated in the job announcement, or candidates shall be given notice at least five working days prior to the date fixed for the examination.
(c) 
Qualifying Grades in Entrance Examinations. An entrance applicant shall be required to attain a score of not less than 70% in the aggregate or as provided in the employment announcement in order to qualify in an entrance examination. In written tests the percentage used to represent the minimum score need not be the arithmetic percentage of the total possible score, but may be an adjusted score based on a consideration of the difficulty of the test; provided that such adjusted score shall be established by the Director of Human Resources before the identification of applicant's test papers.
(5362, 3/1/79; CS01-089, 8/16/01; CS02-028, 03/07/02; CS06-027, deleting (d), 02/02/06; CS2013-03-21-701; amended by Resolutions CS2016-06-16-1201)
The Commission shall provide for the award of five points in favor of all applicants for appointment or employment under Civil Service, who have served on active duty in any branch of the United States Armed Forces, including the National Guard and the United States Coast Guard, for at least 181 consecutive days and have been honorably discharged. These credits shall apply to entrance examinations only.
(5711, 9/18/80; CS04-056, 05/20/04; CS2013-03-21-701; amended by Resolutions CS2016-06-16-1201)
(a) 
Rights of Inspection. With the approval of the Civil Service Commission, and during the inspection period, participants on a written examination may inspect a copy of the examination in the presence of a designated representative of the Director of Human Resources. This privilege does not extend to examinations used on a continuous testing basis, standardized examinations, copyrighted examinations, to those examinations obtained through a testing agency where contractual provisions prohibit the exposure of content or when in the judgment of the Commission, this exposure would damage the examination's reliability or validity.
(b) 
Inspection Period. The inspection period is that period beginning the first work day immediately following the administration of the written examination and ending five work days later. The duration of any examination inspection shall not exceed one hour. Only one inspection shall be allowed. This period may be extended if, in the judgment of the Director of Human Resources, the number of requests of participants for inspection exceeds the work time available for such inspection.
(c) 
Protest Period. The protest period is that period beginning the first work day immediately following the administration of the written examination and ending 10 working days later. During this period any participant may file with the Director a written protest, on the form prescribed, setting forth the question number and reason and/or authority in support of the protest. Such protests shall be deemed the only proper and legal reference to specific test items and their general content, and as such, shall not be a violation of Section 10(b).
(d) 
Submission of Protests. The Director of Human Resources shall submit such protests to the agency that developed the examination for prompt evaluation and recommendation. The results shall be submitted to the Commission at its regular meeting following their receipt.
(e) 
Public Hearing. The Commission shall schedule a public hearing to vote upon the protests. The examination will then be scored under a method determined by the Commission.
(CS2013-03-21-701; amended by Resolutions CS2016-06-16-1201)
(a) 
Each candidate shall be given notice of relative standing on the eligible list by mail or by posting in accordance with Rule II, Section 5 of these rules. Each candidate who fails to obtain a place on the eligibility list shall be given notice in accordance with Rule II, Section 5 of these rules.
(b) 
During the five working days immediately following the date of notice or posting of relative standing, any participant shall be entitled to inspect his or her written test papers in the Human Resources Department during regular office hours and in the presence of the Director's designee.
(c) 
Upon the request of a candidate, the candidate shall be granted a consultation with the Director and/or designee to discuss the correction of any item or errors in the computation of the candidate's total score, and to review the reasons for the score. The consultation may include discussion of the written, performance, oral or other rating devices.
(d) 
The inspection of a test paper shall include only the candidate's own answer sheet and scoring answer sheet. The duration of this inspection shall not exceed 15 minutes per candidate.
(e) 
If an error in the marking or grading of an examination is raised by the candidate, the Civil Service Commission shall be informed at the next regular meeting. The Commission shall consider the request from the candidate and the report from the Director concerning such alleged error(s). The Commission shall determine the need for correction and, if necessary, shall instruct the Director to republish the eligible list as corrected by the Commission. Such correction(s) shall not invalidate any certification or employment previously made.
(5362, 3/1/79; CS07-079, 06/07/07; CS2013-03-21-701; amended by Resolutions CS2016-06-16-1201)
(a) 
Every participant's markings, and answer sheets and scores, shall be subject to inspection by the Chief of the Police Department or Chief of the Fire Department and the appointive officer of the City and shall also be open to public inspection at the discretion of the Civil Service Commission.
(b) 
Examination booklets and other documents and their contents are the confidential property of the examining contract agency and/or commission. Any effort by any person to duplicate, reconstruct, take notes of, or in other ways reproduce the content or structure of said examination(s), except as expressly provided for in Section 8(c), shall be cause for civil action on the part of the City and/or disciplinary action, including dismissal as defined in these Civil Service Rules and Regulations.
(CS2013-03-21-701; amended by Resolutions CS2016-06-16-1201)
(a) 
Establishment. From the return and report of the Chief Examiner or examiners based on tests and other factors to be considered as provided in Section 2507(b) of Article XXV of the City Charter, the Civil Service Commission shall establish a list of eligibles for each grade of the persons who shall attain such minimum score or scores as may be fixed by the rules of the Commission and who may be lawfully appointed. Such persons shall take rank upon the list in the order of their relative performance as determined by the tests and other factors, without reference to priority of time of tests.
(1) 
Lateral Entry—Candidates who have passed an unassembled examination as set forth in these rules shall be placed on the lateral entry list after completion of all tests and shall be certified in addition to the list of eligibles who successfully passed all assembled examinations.
(2) 
Academy Graduates—After completion of all tests, candidates shall be placed on a separate eligible list and shall be certified in addition to the list of other eligibles. Candidates shall be ranked based on the standard P.O.S.T. final examination score, which is administered at the Police Academy.
(b) 
Tied Score. In the event of identical ratings, ties shall be broken first by removing Veterans' Preference, second, if Veterans' Preference does not apply, written test score, and third, by lot.
(c) 
Duration of Lists. The period of eligibility for appointment shall be at the discretion of the Commission, but will in no case exceed three years from the date of entering the names on the eligible list, providing such applicant's name is not removed for reasons contained elsewhere in these rules. Upon the recommendation of the appointing authority and with the approval of the Commission, an eligible list may be abolished prior to the expiration of three years for reasons of inadequacy or other reasons consistent with the principles of merit and good personnel administration.
(d) 
Removal of Names. Names of eligibles for original appointment may be removed by the Director of Human Resources from the list and notice given to the Commission when the records of the director show:
(1) 
That the eligible has not passed a satisfactory physical or medical examination as shown by the report of the examining physician;
(2) 
That the eligible has refused or neglected to accept appointment when the same has been tendered to him or her;
(3) 
In the case of promotional eligibility lists, that the eligible has been demoted, discharged, retired or has resigned or died;
(4) 
That the eligible has requested in writing that his or her name be removed;
(5) 
That the eligible has refused or neglected to respond to first class correspondence within a reasonable length of time;
(6) 
That the eligible has been appointed to the position for which the list was established;
(7) 
That the eligible has passed the maximum age provided for appointment to the position for which the eligible qualified.
Names of eligibles for original appointment may also be removed with the approval of the Commission for reasons contained in Section 4 of Rule V of the Rules and Regulations.
(e) 
Eligible List; Integration of Eligible List. Existing eligible lists shall be integrated with the eligible list established as a result of subsequent examinations given for the same position. Candidates appearing on an existing eligible list established by the continuous examination process shall be notified of a subsequent examination for the same position, shall be permitted to compete in said examination, and shall be integrated in the new list of eligibles at their highest rating.
Candidates appearing on an eligible list established through a continuous examination process shall be permitted to compete not more than three times in any one year from the date of their first examination for the same position and shall be integrated in the eligible list at their highest score.
(f) 
Selective Certification Firefighter/Paramedic. If the Fire Chief determines that a paramedic license or emergency medical technician certification, and specific experience is needed for a vacant firefighter position, the Fire Chief may request that the Civil Service Commission certify a list of firefighter eligibles who possess such licenses and certificates and specific experience, who are available for appointment, and whose scores, at the time of certification, represent the three highest scores on the firefighter eligible list.
(g) 
Reinstatement of an Expired Eligible List. Within 90 days of the expiration of an eligible list, such list may be reinstated for good cause, at the discretion of the Civil Service Commission, if the list is less than three years old.
Good cause for reinstatement may include, but is not limited to, any or all of the following reasons:
(1) 
Eligibles have been certified, but there remains an insufficient number of candidates to fill the existing vacancies;
(2) 
The reinstatement of the eligible list would assist the City in meeting its Affirmative Action goals for the class;
(3) 
Unforeseen circumstances arise whereby the immediate needs of the City require taking such action.
(CS87-27, 3/19/87; paragraph (e) added by Resolution CS89-86, 10/5/89; paragraph (f) added by Resolution CS91-066, 5/16/91; paragraph (g) added by Resolution CS94-112, 12/15/94; CS97-057, 5/17/97; CS98-074, 10/1/98; CS04-079, 07/15/04; CS05-056, 04/21/05; CS2013-03-21-701; amended by Resolutions CS2016-06-16-1201)
(a) 
An eligible who successfully completes the written, oral examination process, and any required physical agility testing, whose name appears on the entry-level, academy graduate, or lateral-entry eligible list established by the Commission, may be granted a temporary waiver of the pre-employment background process upon giving written reasons satisfactory to the Commission. Such a waiver shall be for a period specified in the written request and not to exceed the life of the eligible list.
(b) 
In the event the eligible list is exhausted prior to its expiration, upon approval of the Commission, an eligible with a temporary waiver may be given the opportunity to complete the background process.
(c) 
A second waiver shall not be granted.
(Original rule repealed by Resolution CS01-077, 7/19/01; added by Resolution CS 04-071, 07/01/04; CS2013-03-21-701; amended by Resolutions CS2016-06-16-1201)