This subtitle does not apply to a special appointment position in the skilled service or professional service. This subtitle does not apply to the recruitment for or the appointment to a position in the skilled service or professional service if the appointing authority: decides to recruit for the position under § 7–203(2) of this subtitle; demonstrates that the position, based on the position description, is difficult to fill; demonstrates that the recruitment must occur in a timely manner; and notifies the Department of the recruitment. A recruitment and appointment under this paragraph shall occur in accordance with regulations adopted by the Department. The Department shall adopt regulations to implement this paragraph. The regulations adopted under this subparagraph shall provide, at a minimum, that for positions designated as special appointments on January 1, 2009, an appointing authority shall retain the same recruitment authority that the appointing authority possessed on January 1, 2009. Each unit shall fill vacant skilled service and professional service positions in accordance with a position selection plan. To ensure compliance with State and federal employment laws and to ensure consistency in recruitment and hiring practices in the State Personnel Management System, the Department shall: 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. On request of a unit that is not able to conduct all or part of its own recruitment or selection testing for a position because it lacks the appropriate resources, the Department, consistent with its resources, shall assist the unit in conducting the requested recruitment and selection testing.

In this section, “Program” means the Expedited Hiring Program in the Department. 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. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle, an appointing authority: may recruit for a vacant position in accordance with this section; and shall aim to complete the recruitment for the position within 40 days. An eligible applicant for the Program shall be an individual applying for a vacant position in State government who: self–certifies and, on request, provides documentation that the individual: has served in the federal government in any capacity, including during a probationary period; and left federal service after January 15, 2025; and has relevant federal expertise or experience to meet the requirements, based on the position description, for the vacant State position. The Program shall: 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. The Secretary shall: 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: implement the Program; and revise the conditions for eligibility under subsection (d) of this section to include review of applications from former federal contractors.

When a skilled service or professional service position is to be filled, the unit shall complete a position selection plan for the position. A position selection plan shall contain the information about the position that the Secretary requires, including: 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: current State or unit employees; current contractual employees; promotional candidates; or candidates indicating a willingness to work in a location; and if applicants for the position are to be recruited, the: location for submitting applications; manner for posting the position announcement in the unit; method and length of time for advertising the position; closing date to receive applications for the position; plan of development of any selection test to be administered to qualified applicants; and duration of the list of eligibles that results from the recruitment. The appointing authority shall: 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.

An appointing authority may select candidates for a position: 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 disabled veteran: is a veteran; and is included on a United States uniformed services permanent disability list with a disability rating of at least 30%; or has been rated by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs as having a compensable service–connected disability of at least 30%; the disabled veteran presents to the appointing authority written documentation: issued by an appropriate department of the federal government within the year preceding selection; and certifying the existence and extent of the veteran’s disability; the appointing authority determines that the disabled veteran is qualified to perform the duties and responsibilities of the position; the appointing authority notifies the Secretary in writing that the position is to be filled by a disabled veteran on a noncompetitive basis in accordance with this subsection; and the disabled veteran does not hold a permanent appointment or have mandatory reinstatement rights to a permanent appointment. 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: has expressed an interest to the appointing authority in applying for the position; and satisfies the requirements under paragraph (1) of this subsection. 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.

To recruit candidates for a position, an appointing authority shall prepare a job announcement for the position and conduct recruitment in accordance with the position selection plan. A job announcement shall contain: 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. For a vacant position under this subtitle, the appointing authority shall: if current employees or contractual employees in the unit may be eligible for the position: post the job announcement for at least 2 weeks before the deadline for submitting applications, in at least one centralized location in that unit that is accessible to all employees; and use any other method reasonably calculated to give eligible employees notice of the vacancy; and advertise the position vacancy at least 2 weeks before the deadline for submitting applications by: making available a job announcement to all appropriate State agencies, based on selection limitations; and using any other method that is reasonably calculated to ensure a sufficient pool of applicants, including printed advertisements in newspapers and journals, paper and electronic bulletin board postings, and special notices.

The appointing authority shall: 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. If less than ten but more than two applicants meet the minimum requirements for a position, the appointing authority may: 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: free of charge; and except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, open to all qualified applicants. An appointing authority: may disqualify and refuse to examine an otherwise qualified applicant who intentionally falsifies information in the application; and shall give the applicant a written notice of the reason for the proposed disqualification. An applicant who is disqualified under this subsection may submit a written response to the notice.

A credit under this section shall be applied to an applicant’s score on any selection test administered to establish placement on a list of eligible candidates for which the applicant otherwise is qualified and has at least the minimum passing score on a selection test. For a current State employee, an appointing authority shall apply a credit on a selection test, of one–quarter point for each year of service in State government, up to a maximum of five points for 20 years of State service. In this subsection the following words have the meanings indicated. “Eligible spouse” means an individual who is married to an active service member. “Eligible veteran” means a veteran who has received an other than dishonorable discharge or a certificate of satisfactory completion of service, including: a reserve component; the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service; and the Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. An appointing authority shall apply a credit of 10 points on any selection test for: an eligible spouse; an eligible veteran; the spouse of an eligible veteran who has a service connected disability; or the surviving spouse of a deceased eligible veteran. An appointing authority shall apply a credit of two additional points on any selection test for a former prisoner of war. The following applicants are ineligible for a credit under this subsection: a current State employee; and an eligible veteran who is convicted of a crime after being discharged from or completing military service. In this subsection the following words have the meanings indicated. “Adjacent county” means any county adjacent to a host county. “Host county” means any county in which a qualified prison facility is located. “Qualified prison facility” means any new State correctional institution of 750 beds or more constructed for the Division of Correction of the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services on or after January 1, 1985. 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 this subsection the following words have the meanings indicated. “Adjacent district” means a legislative district within Baltimore City adjacent to the host district or, if the adjacent district extends beyond Baltimore City, that part of the district within Baltimore City. “Host district” means the legislative district in which the Baltimore City Juvenile Justice Center is located. 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. In the selection process for an appointment to a position within the State Personnel Management System, an appointing authority shall allow five points to each resident of the State of Maryland. An appointing authority shall apply a credit of five points on a selection test for an individual with a disability, as defined by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.

The appointing authority shall: based on appropriate standards, place the candidates within the following categories: best qualified; better qualified; qualified; unsatisfactory; certified by the Division of Rehabilitation Services; eligible for reinstatement after layoff or after a separation under § 11-302 of this article; eligible for reinstatement; or eligible for transfer; and 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. On request, an appointing authority shall notify eligible candidates of their relative standing on the list of eligible candidates. 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.

Except as otherwise provided by law, an appointing authority shall make an appointment from among the candidates in a rating category on a list of eligible candidates as follows: 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. A candidate who is an eligible veteran under § 7-207(c) of this subtitle shall be identified as an eligible veteran on the list of eligible candidates. 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. The appointing authority must certify to the Secretary that the hiring process was conducted in accordance with the selection plan and this subtitle.

Any applicant under this title who is not selected for a position may appeal the decision. An appeal: may be made only on the grounds that the decision was unconstitutional or illegal; and may only be made to the appointing authority. The decision of the appointing authority is final.