Title 7. Employment in the State Personnel Management System — Subtitle 2. Appointment in Skilled Service and Professional Service

This subtitle does not apply to a special appointment position in the skilled service or professional service.

assist units in developing application forms, position selection plans, selection tests, and announcement forms; and

review and audit recruitment and hiring practices of all appointing authorities at least once every 3 years.

There is an Expedited Hiring Program in the Department for the purpose of hiring eligible applicants for vacant positions in the State Personnel Management System subject to the requirements of this section.

Subject to the availability of funds, the Secretary may contract with another entity to assist with the implementation of the Program.

may recruit for a vacant position in accordance with this section; and

shall aim to complete the recruitment for the position within 40 days.

self–certifies and, on request, provides documentation that the individual:

has relevant federal expertise or experience to meet the requirements, based on the position description, for the vacant State position.

develop guidance for appointing authorities on aligning job titles and position descriptions with the federal equivalent positions without requiring substantive changes to the descriptions or classifications of the positions;

conduct marketing and recruitment activities to recruit eligible applicants for vacant positions;

rate the qualifications of each applicant while a vacant position is open;

communicate with applicants throughout the hiring process to maintain the applicants’ interest in the position;

develop a process to refer applicants to other vacant positions in State government; and

explore opportunities to expand the Program to support hiring by interested county governments.

implement the Program in phases, with initial focus on critical and hard–to–fill positions, as determined by the Secretary;

establish reasonable timelines for each phase of implementation; and

adopt regulations to:

a position description described in § 7–102 of this title;

the minimum qualifications for the class of the position and any selective qualifications required for appointment to the position;

any limitations on selection for the position, including those that limit consideration to:

if applicants for the position are to be recruited, the:

approve or disapprove each position selection plan;

authorize funding for approved plans; and

send a copy of an approved selection plan to the equal employment opportunity officer of the unit.

from an existing list of eligible candidates;

if the appointing authority decides to recruit for the position, by recruitment;

from a special list of eligible candidates whom the Division of Rehabilitation Services of the Department of Education certifies as being physically capable and adequately trained to qualify for the position;

from a list of contractual employees performing the same or similar duties of the position; or

as provided in subsection (b) of this section.

An appointing authority may select a disabled veteran for a position if:

The requirements of § 7–209 of this subtitle do not apply to a disabled veteran selected for a vacant position under paragraph (1) of this subsection.

If an appointing authority elects to select a disabled veteran for a vacant position under paragraph (1) of this subsection, the appointing authority may interview any disabled veteran who:

Except as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection, if an appointing authority elects to select a disabled veteran for a vacant position under paragraph (1) of this subsection, the appointing authority is not required to interview any other qualified applicants for appointment to the position.

This subsection does not require an appointing authority to select a disabled veteran for a vacant position or prohibit an appointing authority from filling a vacant position in accordance with the requirements of this subtitle.

a summary of the position description;

the minimum qualifications for the class and any selective qualifications necessary for consideration;

the type of selection test that will be administered to those meeting the position’s minimum qualifications;

the location and deadline for submitting applications; and

the duration of the list of eligibles derived from the announcement.

if current employees or contractual employees in the unit may be eligible for the position:

advertise the position vacancy at least 2 weeks before the deadline for submitting applications by:

review the applications received to determine the applicants who meet the minimum qualifications for the position;

prepare a register of qualified applicants in random order;

send to unqualified applicants a notice that they have failed to meet the minimum qualifications for the position; and

except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, if a competitive examination that requires attendance at a test site is required for the position, send a notice of the examination to qualified applicants on the register at least 10 days before the test administration date.

make a selection from the register without the need for further selection testing; or

readvertise the position vacancy.

An appointing authority may use any appropriate selection process to rate qualified applicants.

A unit must be able to establish the job relatedness, reliability, and validity of the selection tests that it uses.

A selection test must be:

An appointing authority:

An applicant who is disqualified under this subsection may submit a written response to the notice.

The following applicants are ineligible for a credit under this subsection:

In the selection process for an initial appointment to any position in a qualified prison facility, an appointing authority shall allow five points to each resident of the host county or an adjacent county if, in the most recent 12–month period for which data is available as reported by the Maryland Department of Labor, that county had an average unemployment rate that is more than 1.5 times the State unemployment rate as a whole.

In the selection process for an initial appointment to any position at the Baltimore City Juvenile Justice Center, an appointing authority shall allow five points to each resident of the host district or an adjacent district if, in the most recent 12–month period for which data is available as reported by the Maryland Department of Labor, Baltimore City had an average unemployment rate that is more than 1.5 times the State unemployment rate as a whole.

based on appropriate standards, place the candidates within the following categories:

place the candidates on a list of eligible candidates by category in random order within the category except for candidates eligible for reinstatement after layoff or separation under § 11-302 of this article who shall be placed in that category in seniority point order.

The appointing authority shall file the list of eligible candidates with the Department for use by other agencies requesting it; or

if the Department develops a list of eligible candidates, the Department shall send the list to the appropriate appointing authorities, on request, in accordance with regulations adopted by the Secretary.

if there are at least five candidates rated best qualified, from that rating category;

if there are fewer than five candidates rated best qualified, from the candidates in the best qualified and better qualified categories; and

if there are fewer than five candidates rated best qualified and better qualified, from candidates in best qualified, better qualified, and qualified categories.

In making a selection, the appointing authority may interview any of the candidates in the rating category from which the selection will be made.

When interviews are conducted under this section, the appointing authority must interview at least three candidates.

may be made only on the grounds that the decision was unconstitutional or illegal; and

may only be made to the appointing authority.