The Transportation Service may employ the categories of employees set forth in §§B—G of this regulation. Career Service Employees. Career service is intended to facilitate a career commitment. Employees appointed as Career Service employees shall be hired from a competitive list of eligibles. Upon satisfactory completion of a required probation period, employees may only be terminated for cause. Executive Service Employees. Employees appointed as Executive Service employees shall be hired based on their experience or other relevant qualifications for the position. Executive Service employees serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority. Temporary Employees. Employees appointed as temporary employees shall: Be hired for a specific period not to exceed 12 months or the limits established under a special employment program, such as a student intern program; and Meet the minimum qualifications for the classification for which they are appointed. Temporary employees serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority, and are compensated only by cash compensation. Commission Plan Employees. Commission Plan employees are appointed to positions comparable to those in private industry and serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority. The compensation method shall be based upon accepted private sector practices to include a base salary plus commissions earned by achieving goals that relate directly to additional sales volume or enhanced net revenue. Contractual Employees. Employees appointed as contractual employees shall be hired on a personal services contract based on their qualifications. Conditions of their employment and compensation shall be specified in the contract. Total compensation includes cash, leave, and benefits, exclusive of pension or retirement benefits, and shall be the same for same classifications. However, the combination of cash, leave, and benefits may be varied according to the needs of the contract. Emergency Employees. Employees shall be appointed on an emergency basis only for a period not to exceed 90 days and compensated only by cash compensation. Except as provided under §O of this regulation, Career Service positions shall be filled competitively. Examination methods shall be job related, and may only assess the applicant's job-related skills, knowledge, abilities, education, and experience. Examinations may be specific to a particular position, a class, or a classification series. A written selection plan shall be established which sets forth the steps in the recruitment, examination, and selection process, their relative value in the total process, and the sequence of the steps. Lists of eligibles shall be established which group job candidates into categories. The categories shall range from the qualified to the best qualified. Geographic Area Limitation. Applicants shall select those geographic areas for which they wish to be considered. An appointing authority shall select a candidate from the highest rating category of a list of eligibles, except as specified in §H of this regulation or if the highest rating category contains an insufficient number of candidates. Selection may be further limited to those applicants who have elected to work in the areas in which the positions' functions are performed. An appointing authority may select a job candidate for a vacant Career Service position from a listing of qualified candidates supplied by the Human Resources Office. If an appointing authority or the appointing authority's designee cannot make an adequate selection from among those candidates, the appointing authority shall document the reasons and may request the Human Resources Office to provide additional job candidates from the list of eligibles. Job Specific Selections. An appointing authority who is filling a vacant Career Service position that requires specific job skills not found among job candidates on the existing list of eligibles shall document the reasons for not filling the position from the existing list of eligibles, and may request the Human Resources Office to establish a list of job candidates who possess the specific job skills required. Before selection, candidates on the list of eligibles may be required to demonstrate other job-related qualifications for the specific job to be filled. Removal from Lists of Eligibles. A candidate shall be removed from a list of eligibles: For deceptive or fraudulent conduct or other misconduct in the employment process; For failing to respond to two notices for interviews; or If the candidate is selected for a position from the list of eligibles. A candidate shall be removed from a list of eligibles for a geographic area the candidate selected in accordance with §E of this regulation if the candidate declines because of location to consider a job opportunity in that geographic area. Promotional Selections. An appointing authority may limit the selection of a candidate to fill a vacant Career Service position to a list of State, Department of Transportation, or administration employees. Employees in positions in the Department immediately before their conversion into the Transportation Service may be converted into the Career Service without competitive examination or selection. A contractual employee who was awarded a contract following a competitive examination and selection process as specified in §§B and C of this regulation may be placed in a Career Service vacancy which is the same or substantially the same without being subject to further competition. In the design of its selection plan for a vacant Career Service position, an appointing authority may use an eligible list certified for a unique classification under the authority of State Personnel and Pensions Article, §4-302, Annotated Code of Maryland, if the eligible list was certified before the date of the administration's incorporation into the Transportation Service. Notwithstanding any regulation to the contrary, the eligible list shall remain in full force and effect until the date of its expiration, and the relative standing of eligibles may not be affected except when a clerical error or fraudulent act has tainted an examination score. Career Service positions may be exempt from competitive examinations and use of eligible lists if the positions are entry level, trainee level, or occupations that require minimal experience: That have been determined by the Director, Office of Human Resources at the Secretary's office; and For which the Director, Office of Human Resources at the Secretary's office has determined that competitive examinations are either impractical or cannot validly evaluate candidates' abilities and knowledge. For any position exempted from the use of competitive examinations and lists of eligibles by §O of this regulation, the position is to be filled in accordance with a selection plan setting forth how candidates shall be recruited and screened for interviews and the relative value of factors to be considered in the selection. The Transportation Service shall provide notice to current employees of promotional job recruiting opportunities through the posting of job vacancy notices and test schedules on bulletin boards and through other appropriate recruiting methods. Transportation Service promotional practices shall be in accordance with applicable federal and State equal opportunity laws and regulations. An appointing authority may limit the selection of employees for promotion to Transportation Service vacancies to current Department of Transportation employees as provided for in Regulation .02 of this chapter. Commission Plan, Executive Service, contractual, and temporary employees with at least 6 months service are entitled to promotional status for purposes of examination and selection. Career Service employees with at least 6 months service are entitled to promotional status for purposes of examination and selection. Other Department employees who have 6 months of service in a position and, if applicable, have completed an original probation period, are entitled to promotional status for purposes of examination and selection. Notice. An employee may resign a position by providing at least 2 weeks notice, or a lesser time period if acceptable, to the appointing authority. Failure to provide an acceptable notice period may be grounds for issuing a notice of disqualification for future employment. Automatic Resignation. An employee who does not report to work or provide notice to the supervisor of the reason for an absence from work for 5 consecutive workdays is considered to have resigned effective as of the last day of work. Automatic resignation may be considered grounds for issuing a notice of disqualification for future employment. An Executive Service or Commission Plan employee who resigns may be granted severance pay at the discretion of the Secretary. Career Service employees initially hired into the Transportation Service shall serve a 6-month probation period, unless another period is specified before recruitment for the position. A supervisor, with the concurrence of the appointing authority or the appointing authority's designee, may extend the probation period for an additional period not to exceed the length of the original probation period, or may shorten the probation period. A Career Service employee who is promoted is required to serve a probation period in the new classification not to exceed 6 months, unless another period is specified before recruitment for the position. A supervisor may, with the concurrence of the appointing authority or the appointing authority's designee, extend the promotional probation period for an additional period not to exceed the length of the original promotional probation period, or may shorten the probation period. An employee reinstated into a classification other than the employee's former classification may be required to serve a 6-month probation, unless another period is specified before recruitment for the position. A supervisor, with the concurrence of the appointing authority or the appointing authority's designee, may extend the probation period for an additional period not to exceed the length of the original probation, or may shorten the probation period. Current Department employees who convert into the Transportation Service and who have satisfactorily completed a probation period are not required to serve an additional probation period as a result of the conversion. Current Department employees who are on probation and who convert into the Transportation Service shall serve probation under its original terms. An employee who, in the judgment of the supervisor, is not satisfactorily performing the job duties may be rejected from a Career Service position with the Transportation Service with the concurrence of the appointing authority. An employee rejected on probation shall be provided at least 2 weeks notice unless, in the judgment of the appointing authority, the employee's continued presence on the job would be contrary to the best interests of the Department. Written Notice. The appointing authority shall provide the employee, in writing, with the reason or reasons for the rejection on probation, the effective date of the rejection on probation, and the appropriate appeal routes, including the time frame for appeal to the Office of Administrative Hearings. An employee rejected on promotional probation shall be returned to the employee's previous position if vacant. If the previous position is not vacant, the appointing authority, at the appointing authority's discretion, may place the employee in any vacancy in the previous classification. Appeal of Rejection on Probation. An employee may appeal a rejection on probation in writing to the Office of Administrative Hearings, with a copy to the appointing authority, within 5 work days of receipt of the written notice of rejection. Work days do not include Saturdays, Sundays, and observed holidays. The Secretary of Budget and Management or a designated representative shall allow either party 15 days from the date of the Office of Administrative Hearings' proposed decision to file exceptions to the proposed decision. A police officer serving an initial probationary period as a police officer, or a rejected employee serving a probation period as set forth in §A or C of this regulation, shall be afforded an opportunity for a hearing which is limited to the legal and constitutional basis for the rejection. A rejected employee serving a promotional probation period as set forth in §B of this regulation shall be offered a hearing on the merits of the rejection. The burden of proof in an appeal of rejection on probation is as set forth in COMAR 11.02.08.10J. Police officers initially hired into the Transportation Service may be required by the appointing authority to serve a 2-year probationary period, and may be promoted during the probationary period at the discretion of the appointing authority. An employee of the Department who converts into the Transportation Service shall retain credit for years of service credited by the Department to the employee at the time of conversion. State employees who are hired into the Transportation Service shall receive credit for years of State service. Contractual and temporary employees who are hired into a Transportation Service position shall receive service and leave earning rate credit for the period of their uninterrupted contractual, temporary, or contractual and temporary service which took place immediately before their appointment to a Transportation Service position. An employee may request a voluntary demotion without prejudice, which may be granted at the discretion of the appointing authority or the appointing authority's designee. The appointing authority or the appointing authority's designee shall make a determination regarding the necessity of investigating the background of n eligible individual for purposes of verification of suitability for employment. When appropriate and job-related, areas of investigation may include, but are not limited to, employment history, academic credentials, military records, criminal conviction records, and personal references. In conducting the background investigation, the appointing authority or the appointing authority's designee shall: Provide written notification to the eligible individual that: A background investigation may be conducted; and Consequences for fraudulent or irregular information may include, but are not limited to, nonselection, removal from the list of eligibles, termination of employment in situations where employment has begun, and criminal prosecution; and Obtain a release of information form signed by the eligible individual. The appointing authority or the appointing authority's designee may investigate the qualifications and background of an individual who has been offered or appointed to a position. If the appointing authority or the appointing authority's designee discovers that the individual provided fraudulent or irregular information in taking an examination or in any part of the appointment process, the appointing authority may take any of the following actions before the individual begins work: Remove the individual from the eligibility list; Withdraw the offer; or Withdraw the appointment. Applicability. This regulation applies to all Transportation Service employees except contractual employees. An employee may not be denied the opportunity to seek, qualify for, or receive any promotion solely because the employee is on leave for maternity reasons or on leave due to illness or injury, if the employee is expected to return to work 60 days after receiving a request to call for an interview for the position. Transportation Article, §§2-102, 2-103.4, and 7-201; State Personnel and Pensions Article, §2-106; Annotated Code of Maryland Effective date: January 18, 1993 (20:1 Md. R. 27) Regulation .02 amended effective August 30, 1993 (20:17 Md. R. 1346); September 12, 1994 (21:18 Md. R. 1509) Regulation .02O amended effective March 15, 2004 (31:5 Md. R. 450) Regulation .03D amended and .03E and F adopted effective August 30, 1993 (20:17 Md. R. 1346) Regulation .03E amended effective December 22, 2003 (30:25 Md. R. 1848) Regulation .05J amended effective March 9, 2009 (36:5 Md. R. 423) Regulation .05K adopted effective October 7, 1996 (23:20 Md. R. 1424) Regulation .06C amended effective August 30, 1993 (20:17 Md. R. 1346) Regulation .08 adopted effective August 30, 1993 (20:17 Md. R. 1346) Regulation .09 adopted effective September 12, 1994 (21:18 Md. R. 1509)