Can the civil service commission adopt a “rule of five?
” Apparently it may do so. The state court of appeals has upheld a Seattle civil service rule allowing the appointing authority (the chief of police) to fill a position by selecting a candidate from the top five applicants by the civil service commission. The court found that this “rule of five” had historical roots, was similar to the “rule of three” previously upheld by the court, and “substantially accomplished” the purposes of the state civil service laws. Another aspect of the Seattle rules, however, one that allowed the chief to select from either the top five candidates or the top 25 percent of the applicants, whichever number was greater, was held to give the chief too much discretion and thus was inconsistent with state law. See Ramm v. Seattle, 113 Wn. App. 431 (2002). The ability of cities to adopt a “Rule of Five” is based upon the statutory language that allows rules to be adopted that “substantially accomplish” the purpose of the state civil service laws. The is no simila
Related Questions
- If an employee appeals his suspension or discharge or grieves it do we have to hold off on serving the suspension until the Civil Service Commission or arbitrator has ruled?
- What rules may the Financial Service Commission (commission) adopt under the new laws?
- Can the civil service commission adopt a "rule of five?
