Chapter 31

Section 1. In this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings, unless the context requires otherwise:— ''Administrator'', the agency head or chief human resources officer of the human resources division within the executive office for administratio…

Section 10. An appointing authority may make a promotional appointment within a departmental unit on the basis of an alternate departmental promotional examination pursuant to this section. Eligibility to take such examination shall extend only to persons who have been employed i…

Section 11. An appointing authority may make a promotional appointment on the basis of a competitive promotional examination, pursuant to the provisions of this section, which shall be open to all permanent employees of the commonwealth, or of the city, town, or district where th…

Section 12. An appointing authority may make a provisional appointment to a position in the official service with the authorization of the administrator or, if the appointing authority is a department, board, commission, institution or other agency within an executive office, wit…

Section 13. An appointing authority, in requesting authorization to make a provisional appointment, shall file with the administrator or, if the appointing authority is a department, board, commission, institution or other agency within an executive office, with the secretary in …

Section 14. Upon receipt of the notice described in section thirteen, the administrator or the secretary in charge of the executive office, as the case may be, may authorize a provisional appointment if he determines that the contents of the notice are satisfactory. If the admini…

Section 15. An appointing authority may, with the approval of the administrator or, if the appointing authority is a department, board, commission, institution or other agency within an executive office, with the approval of the secretary of such office, make a provisional promot…

Section 16. Examinations shall be conducted under the direction of the administrator, who shall determine their form, method and subject matter. Examinations shall fairly test the knowledge, skills and abilities which can be practically and reliably measured and which are actuall…

Section 17. The administrator, without requisition from an appointing authority, may hold a competitive examination to establish an eligible list of persons with bachelor's degrees. Such examination shall be open to any person who, at the time of the examination, has completed, o…

Section 18. The administrator shall prepare notices of all examinations for original appointment to the official service and shall send such notices to the clerks of those cities and towns where persons are domiciled who may be eligible to apply to take such examinations. The cle…

Section 19. The administrator shall prepare a notice of each competitive examination to be held for a promotional appointment in the official service. The administrator shall send copies of such notice to the appointing authority for the departmental unit in which the promotional…

Section 2. In addition to its other powers and duties, the commission shall have the following powers and duties: (a) To conduct investigations at its discretion or upon the written request of the governor, the executive council, the general court or either of its branches, the a…

Section 20. Each application for examination or registration pursuant to the civil service law and rules shall be made under the penalties of perjury and shall contain requests for such information as the administrator deems necessary. Each such application for a non-promotional …

Section 21. The administrator may establish educational requirements and alternatives thereto, in addition to the educational requirements established by statute, as prerequisites for appointment to any civil service position. The administrator may also establish physical require…

Section 22. The administrator shall determine the passing requirements of examinations. In any competitive examination, an applicant shall be given credit for employment or experience in the position for which the examination is held. In any examination, the applicant shall be al…

Section 23. Within six weeks after receipt of a request pursuant to section twenty-two, the administrator shall, subject to the provisions of this section, conduct such review, render a decision, and send a copy of such decision to the applicant. If the administrator finds that a…

Section 24. An applicant may appeal to the commission from a decision of the administrator made pursuant to section twenty-three relative to (a) the marking of the applicant's answers to essay questions or training and experience sheet; (b) a finding that the applicant did not me…

Section 25. The administrator shall establish, maintain and revise eligible lists of persons who have passed each examination for appointment to a position in the official service. The names of such persons shall be arranged on each such list, subject to the provisions of section…

Section 26. The names of persons who pass examinations for original appointment to any position in the official service shall be placed on eligible lists in the following order: (1) disabled veterans, in the order of their respective standings; (2) veterans, in the order of their…

Section 27. Except as provided otherwise by section fifteen, if the administrator certifies from an eligible list the names of three persons who are qualified for and willing to accept a promotional appointment, the appointing authority, pursuant to the civil service law and rule…

Section 28. Except as provided in the last paragraph of this section, the names of persons who apply for employment in the labor service of the commonwealth and of the cities and towns shall be registered and placed, in the order of the dates on which they file their applications…

Section 28A. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, in any city or town which accepts this section, no person shall be eligible to have his name certified for original appointment to the position of apprentice lineman in a municipal light department if that p…

Section 29. An appointing authority shall, prior to any request to the administrator for approval of a promotional appointment of a permanent employee in the labor service to a higher title in such service; or for approval of a change in employment of a permanent employee within …

Section 3. The administrator shall make and amend rules which shall regulate the recruitment, selection, training and employment of persons for civil service positions; provided, however, that the commission shall review such rules and in the event the commission determines that …

Section 30. Pursuant to the provisions of this section, an appointing authority, upon submission of a requisition, may make a promotional appointment within a departmental unit of a permanent employee in the labor service to a position in the lowest title, as determined by the ad…

Section 31. An appointing authority may, without submitting a requisition to the administrator and without complying with other provisions of the civil service law and rules incident to the normal appointment process, make an emergency appointment to any civil service position ot…

Section 32. An appointing authority may make an emergency appointment to the position of laborer without submitting a requisition to the administrator and without complying with the other provisions of the civil service law and rules; provided, however, that the circumstances req…

Section 33. For the purposes of this chapter, seniority of a civil service employee shall mean his ranking based on length of service, computed as provided in this section. Length of service shall be computed from the first date of full-time employment as a permanent employee, in…

Section 34. Following his original appointment to a civil service position as a permanent full-time employee, a person shall actually perform the duties of such position on a full-time basis for a probationary period of six months before he shall be considered a full-time tenured…

Section 35. Subject to the provisions of section forty-one governing the transfer of persons who have served as tenured employees since prior to October fourteen, nineteen hundred and sixty-eight, a tenured employee may be transferred to a similar position in the same or in anoth…

Section 36. A person who has been employed in the official service as a permanent employee for at least one year may be transferred to a position in the labor service under the direction of the same appointing authority upon approval of the administrator. Such approval shall be g…

Section 37. An appointing authority may grant a permanent employee a leave of absence or an extension of a leave of absence; provided that any grant for a period longer than fourteen days shall be given only upon written request filed with the appointing authority by such person,…

Section 38. Upon reporting an unauthorized absence to the administrator pursuant to section sixty-eight, an appointing authority shall send by registered mail a statement to the person named in the report, informing him that (1) he is considered to have permanently and voluntaril…

Section 39. If permanent employees in positions having the same title in a departmental unit are to be separated from such positions because of lack of work or lack of money or abolition of positions, they shall, except as hereinafter provided, be separated from employment accord…

Section 39A. Any fire service personnel subject to the retraining requirements of section 39 shall be classified as a conditional employee during the retraining period as a precondition of reinstatement to his position. For purposes of this section, ''conditional employee'' shall…

Section 4. A new rule of the administrator and any amendment to an existing rule shall not be effective until after a public hearing relative to such change has been held by the administrator at least thirty days prior to such proposed rule change and until such change has been r…

Section 40. If a permanent employee shall become separated from his position because of lack of work or lack of money or abolition of his position, his name shall be placed by the administrator on a reemployment list, or if a permanent employee resigns for reasons of illness his …

Section 41. Except for just cause and except in accordance with the provisions of this paragraph, a tenured employee shall not be discharged, removed, suspended for a period of more than five days, laid off, transferred from his position without his written consent if he has serv…

Section 41A. Upon the request of the appointing authority and a tenured employee, who is entitled to a hearing pursuant to the first paragraph of section forty-one, a hearing before a disinterested hearing officer, designated by the chair of the commission, may be held in lieu of…

Section 42. Any person who alleges that an appointing authority has failed to follow the requirements of section forty-one in taking action which has affected his employment or compensation may file a complaint with the commission. Such complaint must be filed within ten days, ex…

Section 43. If a person aggrieved by a decision of an appointing authority made pursuant to section 41 shall, within 10 days after receiving written notice of such decision, appeal in writing to the commission, they shall be given a preliminary hearing before a member of the comm…

Section 44. The commission may institute appropriate proceedings in the superior court for enforcement of its final orders or decisions. Any party aggrieved by a final order or decision of the commission following a hearing pursuant to any section of this chapter or chapter thirt…

Section 45. An aggrieved individual who has prevailed in any appeal brought under this chapter shall be reimbursed by the local appointing authority or, if aggrieved by action or inaction of a state official, by the comptroller of the commonwealth, the following expenditures: (i)…

Section 46. A permanent employee who becomes separated from his position may, with the approval of the administrator, be reinstated in the same or in another departmental unit in a position having the same title or a lower title in the same series, provided that the appointing au…

Section 47. Upon application by a blind person to take an examination for any position the duties of which he may properly perform, the administrator, upon written request of such person, shall make such provisions as will enable such person to take such examination. Notwithstand…

Section 47A. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections six and twenty-eight, an appointment to a position subject to this chapter may be made to a position in the lowest title in a series as determined by the personnel administrator; provided, however, that the appointee has suc…

Section 48. All offices and positions in the official service of the commonwealth shall be subject to the civil service law and rules unless expressly exempted by this chapter or other law. Positions in the labor service of the commonwealth shall be subject to the civil service l…

Section 48A. (1) The administrator shall establish a career management service program for state service. In pursuance of such responsibility as to the career management service, and following consultation with the secretaries of the several executive offices and after at least o…

Section 49. The administrator shall cooperate with degree-granting institutions of higher education which offer programs designed to enable students enrolled therein to be employed in positions appropriate to their major academic interests. The employment by a city or town of any…

Section 5. In addition to his other powers and duties, imposed upon him by this chapter, chapter seven and chapter thirty the administrator shall have the following powers and duties: (a) To administer, enforce and comply with the civil service law and rules and the decisions of …