City of St. Louis Department of Personnel Administrative Regulation NO. 112

Certification Procedures

Revised & Reissued: October 21, 2011

A. When a Personnel requisition has been received by the Personnel Services Section of the Department of Personnel, a list of the highest ranking individuals on the eligible list who are available for the position will be prepared. The normal order of certification shall be the highest ranking eligibles willing to accept employment, ranked in the following order: first, all the eligibles on the appropriate reemployment from layoff list, if any; secondly, all eligibles on the appropriate employment list; and lastly, all eligibles from the appropriate reemployment list. The Director of Personnel can determine a different order of certification if he/she deems it to be in the best interest of the City. All the names on any one of such lists shall be exhausted before any names are certified from another list, but the names certified may be taken from two or more lists, if necessary.

With the prior approval of the Director of Personnel the Appointing Authority may specify certain special qualifications of the person to be certified as he/she deems necessary for the satisfactory performance of the duties of the position. In such cases, only those eligibles possessing the special qualifications, in addition to the minimum qualifications required for the class, shall be certified.

The names of the highest ranking individuals will be forwarded to the Appointing Authority
along with an official "Certification of Eligibles" form and a copy of each candidate's application. The list will consist of the highest ranking individuals in certification order. The number of names
appearing on this list will be the number of vacancies plus five (5).

B. Candidates whose names appear on the "List of Eligibles" will be notified of the vacancy(s) and directed to contact the Appointing Authority or his/her representative within five (5) business days of the date of the letter (Monday through Friday excluding holidays and weekends). Departments may contact referrals to set up interviews upon receipt of certification in order to expedite the interviewing process. When a candidate telephones the Appointing Authority or his/her designated representative, they should be given a brief explanation of the position and scheduled for a personal interview by the department at the earliest possible time. If the candidate does not wish to be considered for the position(s), he/she should notify the Appointing Authority or his/her designated representative, indicating if he/she is not interested or not available. This lack of interest in the position must be noted by the Appointing Authority in the "disposition" section of the "Certification of Eligibles" form.

C. When the Appointing Authority makes a selection, it is the responsibility of the Appointing Authority to assure that the selection is in accordance with this administrative procedure. The Appointing Authority must notify the candidate(s) selected as well as those who are not.

D. The Appointing Authority or his/her representative must report any appointment(s) and known dispositions of the other candidate(s) whom were not selected or were not available on the "Certification of Eligibles" form, and return the original form to the Department of Personnel. All applications and related paperwork pertaining to this certification must be returned to the Department of Personnel. This includes the new Employee Information or Employee Change in Status Form necessary to place the employee's name on the payroll as well as a request for Waiver of Residence (if necessary).

When filling multiple vacancies, it may be necessary to process immediately some appointments even though appointments cannot be reported for all vacancies. In such cases, the Appointing Authority should submit a signed copy of the "Certification of Eligibles" form with each appointment.

E. Completion of "Certification of Eligibles" forms. The Appointing Authority must see that the proper disposition codes are entered, as defined below:

DISPOSITION CODES

NS NOT SELECTED: Candidate was interested in the position and was considered, but was not offered the position. This code will cause the candidate's name to remain on the eligible list. However, in the event of a candidate obtaining six (6) NS's, his/her name will be removed from the eligible list.

FR FAILED TO RESPOND: Candidate did not follow instructions by calling to set up an interview within the time frame specified herein. This code should also be used for a candidate who sets up an interview and fails to show up. This code will cause the candidate's name to be dropped from the eligible list.

NA NOT AVAILABLE: Candidate is still available for other locations but has decided against being considered for this particular position. This code will cause the candidate's name to remain on the eligible list. However, in the event of a candidate obtaining six (6) NA's, his/her name will be removed from the eligible list.

NI NOT INTERESTED: Candidate no longer wants to be considered for this class of position. This code will cause the candidate's name to be removed from the eligible list.

FM FAILED MEDICAL: Candidate failed pre-employment physical and/or a drug screen and his/her name has been removed from the eligible list.

FT FILLED BY TRANSFER: The current vacancy is being filled by a transfer candidate. Use this code for only those who are interviewed for the position, but not selected due to a transfer. This code will cause the candidate's name to remain on the eligible list.

NC NO COMMERCIAL DRIVER'S LICENSE CDL: The position requires a CDL and the candidate does not possess or no longer possesses a Commercial Driver's License. This code will cause the candidate's name to be removed from the eligible list.

P PENDING: Use this code when the final disposition has not been determined.

HR HIRED: Mark HR and then the date that the candidate is to start work. If more than one vacancy exists, please indicate the number of the Personnel Requisition that the candidate is filling.

MH MEDICAL HOLD: Candidate has been sent for a pre-employment physical and/or a drug screen. This code will be used when a candidate, for whatever reason, has been referred to his/her private physician and must follow-up with the City's Medical Services Provider within thirty (30) days in order for the offer of employment to be valid.

If the above disposition codes do not describe a situation that you encounter, please list the details beside the candidate's name.

F. Insufficient Number of Eligibles on the Eligible List. If there are fewer eligibles on the list than are required to comprise a full certification, the Department of Personnel will certify those candidates who are available in the manner described above. It is hoped that the Appointing Authority can find a suitable candidate from among those certified. If the Appointing Authority is unable to fill the vacancy(s) from the list provided, the Appointing Authority should notify the Department of Personnel of the need for additional eligibles.

G. Simultaneous Certification to more than one agency. If a candidate's name appears on more than one "Certification of Eligibles" list, the candidate shall be considered for each vacancy or set of vacancies. If offered employment by more than one agency, the candidate must stay with the first position he/she accepted. Acceptance of a position will result in removal of the candidate from consideration for all other positions in the same class of position.

H. Additional Consideration.

1. It is essential that appointing authorities assure that each Personnel Requisition submitted has no less than 5 essential functions listed for the position to be filled. These represent those functions critical to the position that must be performed by the employee with or without a reasonable accommodation.

DO NOT USE THE JOB DESCRIPTION FROM THE CLASS SPECIFICATION.

Give a detailed description of the exact job to be filled. It is very important that the location, hours of work, and any special essential qualifications be listed in order to properly fill the job.

2. Each Personnel Requisition must indicate, in the space provided, the "official work week" for the position(s).

3. Since the Department of Personnel has not verified, in person, the identity of the candidates certified, the Appointing Authority should take whatever steps deemed necessary to assure that the person being considered is the same person who competed and was placed on the Eligible List. The Appointing Authority should require the candidate to present positive proof of identity or to employ other means of positively establishing identity.

4. As a courtesy, the Department of Personnel will provide the departments with copies of the candidates' applications. However, these copies will not reflect any work history that the candidate has accumulated after his/her application has been placed on file with the Department of Personnel. Applications should be treated as confidential, and applications of candidates who are not hired must be returned to the Department of Personnel immediately upon selection.

5. Pursuant to merit system principles, it is imperative that special care be taken to respect every candidate's right to be considered fully based on merit and fitness. Candidates on the certification list can be passed over only if the following occurs:

i They have failed to respond in a timely manner as directed in the
notification letter mailed to them by the Department of Personnel; or

ii They indicate they are unavailable for the position; or

iii They fail to appear for a scheduled interview

6. Appointments and other dispositions must be reported immediately, and all forms on each appointment must be completed and returned to the Department of Personnel as soon as possible. Deadline for submitting the certification of eligibles is twenty one (21) days from the date on the certification, or if the Appointing Authority is unable to make a selection, the Director of Personnel or his designee may grant an extension of an additional thirty (30) days. Failure to return the certification in the required time frame will result in the requisition and certification being cancelled and returned to the department unfilled. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE PAYROLL DEADLINE TO SUBMIT PAYROLL DOCUMENTS OR IT MAY PREVENT THE EMPLOYEE FROM RECEIVING THEIR CHECK ON TIME.

If you have any questions concerning certification procedures or this regulation, please contact the Personnel Services Section at 641-8485.

DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL

Richard R. Frank
Director

Back to the Index to Administrative Regulations

HOME | KIDZONE | CATALOG | CONTACT US | SEARCH | HINTS