RULE I
DEFINITIONS

APPOINTMENT: Various types of appointments include the following:

(a) Emergency -

An appointment made consistent with R.I.G.L. 36 4 32 for a specified time (generally 30 working days) processed via a CS 16 to OPA to cover an unforeseen emergency.

(b) Intermittent -

An appointment to recurrent employment which may be regular or irregular in structure as the needs of the service require.

(c) Non-Competitive -

An appointment to a class not subject to an exam in accordance with personnel rules. (see non competitive appointment branch and position definitions)

(d) Original

An appointment from an established list. (See original appointment definition)

(e) Permanent -

An appointment to a position without fiscal or personnel leave restrictions. Position may be full or part-time.

(f) Promotional -

An appointment to a position from the promotional list.

(g) Re employment -

An appointment made consistent with the general laws and personnel rules covering this section. These appointments cover preferred hires and rehires within 3 years from termination. (See re employment list and preferred reemployment list definitions and R.I.G.L. 36 4 23, 24, 25, & 37 and 36 3 3(16)).

(h) Statutory Service -

An appointment made to a position afte¬r 20 years state service regardless of branch of service. (See statutory service definition)

(i) Temporary -

An appointment of a person subject to examination. (See temporary appointment definition)

APPROPRIATE LIST:

means any employment list, promotional list or reemployment list or any combination thereof which is declared appropriate by the Personnel Administrator for purposes of certification and appointment to a given position. Comparability and appropriateness shall be determined on the basis of a wide variety of job related considerations such as the minimum education and experience required, the knowledges, skills, abilities, physical requirements, professional licenses, specialized training, level of responsibility, pay grade and other job related matters. Means any person whose name appears upon an employment, reemployment or promotional list and who is available for appointment to a given position.

ASSEMBLED EXAMS:

Applicants are physically gathered to participate in competitive or continuous examinations which measure job knowledge, aptitude or consists of work samples.

AUTHORIZED AGENT:

an individual given the authority to act on behalf of his/her superior.

CERTIFICATION:

means the act of submitting the required number of available names on an appropriate list to an Appointing Authority for the purpose of making an appointment.

CIVIL SERVICE:

Classified positions governed by civil service under the Rhode Island General Laws of Title 36 and rules and polices promulgated.

CIVIL SERVICE APPOINTMENT:

An original classified service appointment or a promotional appointment made pursuant to the provisions of the Civil Service law and rules.

CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEE:

A person holding a Civil Service classified appointment.

CIVIL SERVICE LAW:

Title 36 of the General Laws, primarily Chapters 3 and 4.

CIVIL SERVICE LAW AND RULES:

Title 36 of the Rhode Island General Laws (R.I.G.L.) and the rules promulgated pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (R.I.G.L. 42 35).

COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION:

A competitive test held (from time to time whenever the Personnel Administrator determines the public convenience so requires) for original appointment and open to all eligible persons, as provided for in Rhode Island General Laws, Title 36, Chapters 3 and 4 and the Rules.

CONTINUOUS EXAMINATION:

On going competitive tests held (from time to time whenever the Personnel Administrator determines the public convenience so requires) for original appointment and open to all eligible persons in accordance with Rhode Island General Laws, Title 36.

DELEGATION:

The delegation of the administration of personnel functions to selected staff or agencies.

DEMOTION:

means a change of an employee from a position of one class to a position of another class for which a lower maximum rate of pay is provided.

DIRECTOR:

means the Director of the Department of Administration.

DISABLED VETERAN:

Any war veteran who is an examinee and who is certified by the veterans administration to be physically disabled, as a result of a service connected disability, with a disability rating of zero per cent (0%) or more.

DISCHARGE:

The permanent, involuntary separation of a person from employment by an Appointing Authority

DISMISSAL:

means separation of an employee from the state service other than by lay off, resignation or retirement

DOMICILE:

(1) the place of residence of an individual or a family

(2) the place with which a person has a settled connection for determination of his/her civil status or other legal purposes because it is annually or legally his/her permanent and principal home.

DUTY:

A work activity, function, or mission recognized by management as being a principal responsibility of a position.

ELIGIBLE:

means any person whose name appears upon an employment, reemployment or promotional list for a given class.

EMPLOYEE:

Any person holding a position subject to appointment by an appointing authority.

EMPLOYMENT LIST:

means a list of names of persons arranged in the order of their ratings who have been found qualified through suitable tests, and who are entitled to have their names certified to Appointing Authorities for original appointment under the provisions of the act and these rules.

ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS:

The prerequisites, otherwise known as minimum requirements, which an applicant must satisfy to be eligible to take an examination

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY:

The removal of all barriers to employment which unfairly discriminate against certain groups of individuals. This applies to the areas of hiring, promotion, demotion, transfer, recruitment, layoff or termination, rate of compensation, inservice or apprenticeship programs, and all other terms and conditions of employment.

EXAMINATION:

Civil service testing of employees or prospective employees for positions in the classified service. Said testing is governed by federal and state merit system principles, personnel rules and polices/procedures for examination. Types of exams include:

• Assembled: * Competitive *
• Continuous *
• Oral*
• Promotional *
• Unassembled * * Refers directly to specific term.

FLEXTIME:

A program that allows participating employees to schedule their work hours on a daily basis within the guidelines and bandwidth established by their department. The number of hours worked per weeks remains constant, but the daily amount of hours can vary with employee selected starting and departing times.

HANDICAPPED LIST:

means a list of names arranged in alphabetical order of handicapped persons certified by the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation as physically capable and adequately trained to perform the duties and responsibilities of a specified class. Such persons may be appointed with temporary status for five (5) months in lieu of competitive examination at which time the Appointing Authority must certify that the performance of the individual so appointed has been satisfaction and request that the individual be placed in probational status.

INACTIVE LIST:

means list of persons whose eligibility for certification is temporarily suspended due to waiver failure to reply to official notice, or other reason consistent with the act and rules.

INTERMITTENT EMPLOYMENT:

means part-time employment, in which persons on call for emergencies are employed during peak load or rush period. Such employment is usually not scheduled for a full day or workweek and is restricted to situations where additional employees are required for short periods.

INVOLUNTARY RESIGNATION:

is a separation from State service by will of the Appointing Authority in accordance with provisions of law.

JOB:

A non-technical term for a set of duties and responsibilities of a position or group of positions.

JOB ANALYSIS:

A systematic process for the examination and determination of:

(1) The nature, characteristics, functions, duties, activities or responsibilities of a job;

(2) The knowledge, skill or experience which is essential to have for its performance;

(3) The environmental conditions, safety equipment, tools and related factors of the job.

JOB GROUP:

A unit of the general salary schedule which includes all classes in the position classification plan which are sufficiently comparable in value as regards duties and responsibilities, irrespective of the field of work of which they form a part, so that the same salary range may be made to apply to all classes in the same unit of the general salary schedule.

LAY OFF:

means an involuntary separation of an employee from a position in the State service either by reason of reduction of force due to lack of work or lack of funds or by reason of the abolishment of the position.

LATERAL TRANSFER:

means a change of an employee from one position to another in the same class.

LIMITED PERIOD APPOINTMENT:

is either a temporary, original, or promotional appointment of a person to a position for a stated limited period of time.

LIMITED PERIOD POSITION:

means any position in the classified or unclassified service which is established for a stated period of time, whose duration is greater than fourteen calendar days, but not in excess of one year.

NON-COMPETITIVE APPOINTMENT:

is the appointment of a person to a class of position assigned to the non-competitive branch of the classified service.

NON-COMPETITIVE BRACH:

all officers or positions authorized by the Personnel Administrator for original appointment by an appointing authority without civil service examination but satisfy the requirements for class specifications.

NON-COMPETITIVE POSITION:

is a position which has been assigned to the non-competitive branch of the classified service.

OCCUPATIONAL GROUP (OCCUPATION):

all positions within a given discipline or field of work (all positions that are similar in kind) regardless of level of responsibility.

OPEN COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION:

means an examination which permits persons to compete who meet the requirements of the official announcement and the appropriate class specification but is not restricted to persons currently employed by the State. Residence requirements are sometimes waived as provided by law.

ORAL EXAMINATION:

an oral panel evaluation of qualifications specified in the recruitment announcement, which provides a better means of assessment for traits, behaviors, etc. which a written test does not appropriately assess.

ORIGINAL APPOINTMENT:

means the appointment by an Appointing Authority of a Person to a position in the State Service from an employment list.

PART-TIME POSITION:

means any position which is established with a work schedule having fewer hours than the official workweek to which the class is assigned.

PAY PLAN:

means a schedule of salaries established for the several classes of positions recognized in the classification plan so that all positions of a given class will be paid the same salary rate or range established for the class.

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL:

A report written on an employee within state service, resulting from the process of comparing an employee’s performance against preestablished written performance standards in order to arrive at a performance evaluation or rating.

PERMANENT EMPLOYEE:

A person who is employed in a civil service position (1) following an original appointment, subject to serving of a probationary period as required by law, but otherwise without restriction as to the duration of his/her employment; or (2) following a promotional appointment, without restriction as to the duration of his/her employment.

PERMANENT STATUS:

Is the status acquired by an appointee,

(a) when his/her Appointing Authority files with the Personnel Administrator a statement in writing that the services of the appointee during the required probationary period have been satisfactory and that it is desired that (s)he be continued in the classified service.

Or,

(b) when, by the provisions of any general or public law (s)he shall be deemed to have received an original appointment to his/her position and to have served the probationary period.

PERMANENT POSITION:

means any position in the classified service which is established without limiting its duration.

POSITION:

means one or more duties and/or responsibilities assigned or delegated by an Appointing Authority requiring the full-time or part-time employment of one position.

POSITION CLASSIFICATION:

means the process of ascertaining, analyzing, and evaluating the current duties and responsibilities of a position for the purpose of determining the relative place in the Classification Plan.

POSITION RECLASSIFICATION:

means a second or subsequent position classification.

PREFERRED REEMPLOYMENT LIST:

Any person in the classified service who holds permanent status and is laid off shall be placed on said list in the order of length of service and appointment therefrom shall be in the same order. This list supersedes all other classified lists. This list shall remain in existence until exhausted.

PRIMARY SENIORITY:

is the length of service within a class of position

PROBATIONARY PERIOD:

is a working test period and a part of the examination process, following an original, promotional or noncompetitive appointment, during which an employee is required to demonstrate his/her fitness for the position to which (s)he is appointed by the satisfactory performance of the duties of said position. Such probationary period shall be for one hundred and thirty (130) days worked in a normal work schedule in the classified position to which the person has been appointed.

PROBATIONARY STATUS:

is the status acquired by virtue of an original, promotional or noncompetitive appointment.

PROMOTIONAL APPOINTMENT:

means the appointment by an Appointing Authority of a person to a position in the state service from a Promotional List.

PROMOTIONAL EXAMINATION:

A competitive test which is open only to state employees in the classified, unclassified and nonclassified services who are employed at the time of the first phase of administration of the examination under conditions as specified in Personnel Rule 3.071, General laws, Title 36.

PROMOTIONAL LIST:

means a list of names of classified employees, arranged in order of their ratings who have been found qualified through suitable tests for promotion to positions in higher classes under the provisions of the act and these rules.

PUBLIC HEARING:

means a hearing, held after public notice of at least five (5) calendar days, at which interested persons may appear and be heard on the matters, involved.

PUBLIC PERSONNEL ROSTER:

A list of state employees in Rhode Island State Government by departmental unit, arranged alphabetically including all public information in accordance with General Laws and Rules.

RACE/ETHNIC GROUPS:

White:

All persons having origins in any of the original people of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East.

Black:

All persons having origins in any of the black racial group of Africa.

Hispanic:

All persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American culture or origin.

Asian or Pacific Islander:

All persons having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands. This area includes, for example, China, Japan, Korea, the Philippine Islands, and Samoa.

American Indian or Alaskan Native:

All persons having origin in any of the original peoples of North America, and who maintain cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community recognition.

REALLOCATION:

means the action taken to place an existing position into an appropriate class of position because of a change in duties and/or responsibilities of said existing position, or because of amendment of the Classification Plan, and officially assigning to that position the class title for such appropriate class of position

REEMPLOYMENT LIST:

means a list of names of classified employees arranged in the order as provided in the act and the rules who have formerly occupied positions in the classified service, who have been separated from the classified service and who are entitled to have their names certified to Appointing Authority under the provisions of the act and these rules.

REGISTER:

A list of certified eligibles established by the Personnel Administrator, pursuant to the Civil Service law and rules, from which certifications are made to Appointing Authority to fill Civil Service positions the classified service.

REGULAR PART-TIME EMPLOYEE:

A person who works regularly scheduled work weeks of at least half the hours of a full-time employee and who receives benefits prorated on the percentage of time worked.

REINSTATEMENT:

The restoration of an employee to a position pursuant to the Civil Service law and rules.

SEASONAL POSITION:

A position requiring the services of n incumbent, on either a full-time or less than full-time basis beginning no earlier than May first and ending no later than September thirtieth in any calendar year.

SECONDARY SENIORITY:

is the length of service in which an employee has worked in the next lower rated position in the classification hierarchy

SENIORITY:

Ranking based on length of service

Primary Seniority - is the length of service within a class of position.

Secondary Seniority - is the length of service in which an employee has worked in the next previous position.

State Seniority - is the length of continuous service in which an employee has worked for the State. A leave of absence or absences does not constitute a break in service

Bargaining Unit Seniority - Length of service served in a subdivision(s) of a major union recognized by the State Labor Relations Board as a bargaining unit, categorized by EE number(s) assigned by State Labor Relations Board.

Union Seniority - Length of service served in a major union recognized by the State as a collective bargaining agent under law.

SERVICE RATING:

means the periodical measurement or appraisal of an employee’s worth or value to his/her employer.

STATE SENIORITY:

is the length of service in which an employee has worked for the State.

STATE SERVICE:

All offices and positions of trust or employment in the service of the state.

STATUTORY STATUS:

means to acquire full status in the position (s)he shall be holding at the time of obtaining 20 years service credit not necessarily consecutive, in the classified, non-classified or unclassified service, and for any other position (s)he may subsequently hold, without examination.

SUSPENSION:

A temporary involuntary separation of a person from employment by his appointing authority.

TASKS:

Official assignments for carrying out a specific duty. A task may be en entire duty or may be part of a duty.

TEMPORARY APPOINTMENT:

means the appointment of a person to position in the state classified service, for which no list of available eligibles exists, until such time as a suitable list is established or deemed appropriate by the Personnel Administrator.

TEMPORARY STATUS:

is the status of an appointee who has not acquired probationary status or permanent status in the position held. The Personnel Administrator shall within one (1) year of the appointment of such temporary appointee establish an appropriate list. In the event the Personnel Administrator has failed or fails to establish an appropriate list within one (1) year of temporary appointment, said temporary appointee shall become a provisional employee until a suitable list is established, at which time said provisional employee shall revert to a temporary employee. (For the purpose of these rules “Provisional Status” as defined in Chapter 197, of the Public Law of 1942 is included in the definition of “Temporary Status.”)

TRANSFER:

means a change of in employee from one position to another regardless of class change.

UNASSEMBLED EXAMINATION:

An evaluation of examination application and supplemental applications which consists of grading an applicant on the basis of his/her training and experience.

UNAUTHORIZED ABSENCE:

An absence from work for a period of more than five (5) consecutive calendar days for which no proper notice has been given to the Appointing Authority by the employee, or person authorized to do so, and which may not be charged to vacation or sick leave allowance, or for which no approval was given as provided for in Personnel Rules, 6.04 which absence shall be deemed to be an abandonment of his/her position and to be a permanent and voluntary separation from the service.

UNCLASSIFIED SERVICE:

position within the unclassified service are those established by law specifically GL 36-4-2 or as stated in other statues pertinent to department organization governed by the Unclassified Pay Plan Board, and include positions of trust in state government excepting classified and nonclassified. Generally, it may include the employees of elected officials, courts, independent agencies or public authorities and various positions of a policy making character. Rules are established for the unclassified service which have the force and effect of law.

VOLUNTARY RESIGNATION:

separation from state service by employee’s own volition.

WAR VETERAN OR VETERAN:

Any person, male or female, who was employed as an officer, member of the enlisted personnel or otherwise in the active military or naval service of the United States or of any auxiliary unit of such military or naval service, except civilian employees during the Spanish American War, the Philippine Insurrection, the China Relief Expedition or at some time during the period between April 6, 1917, and November 11, 1918, or the period between December 7, 1941, and December 31, 1946, or who was engaged in the active conduct of and/or fighting in the Korean Campaign (active conduct of and/or fighting in the Korean Campaign, shall mean service by any man or women of the armed forces of the United States between June 27, 1950, and January 31, 1955, inclusive), or the conflict in Viet Nam (active conduct of and/or fighting in the conflict in Viet Nam shall mean service by any man or women of the armed forces of the United States between August 5, 1964, and May 7, 1975, inclusive, and served for at least six (6) months and one (1) day); Provided however, that such definition shall not include any person who has been separated from such employment or service, except through honorable discharge, if the reason for such separation shall be deemed by the personnel administrator to be sufficient cause to deny such inclusion.

WORKWEEK:

shall mean a period of hours worked within a seven day period beginning on Sunday.

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