Sec. 5-219. Character of examinations. Qualifications for admission.
Sec. 5-219. Character of examinations. Qualifications for admission. Examinations shall be in such form and of such character and shall relate to such matters as
will fairly test and determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of the persons tested
to perform the duties of the class or position to which they seek appointment. Examinations shall be formulated in cooperation with agencies appointing specific classes of
employees and shall be competitive, free and, except as otherwise expressly provided
by statute, open to all persons who may be lawfully appointed to any position in the
class for which examinations are held, with such limitations as to age, residence, health,
habits, character, sex and qualifications as are considered desirable by the Commissioner
of Administrative Services and as are specified in the public announcement of the examination, provided no such limitation shall be made as to age or sex except in the case of
a bona fide occupational qualification or need. Formal education requirements may be
considered as a condition for the taking of such examinations. Possession of a professional license or degree, or satisfactory completion of an accreditation, certificate or
licensure program may serve as the sole basis for appointment, provided such credentials
are a mandatory requirement for employment in a position. Examinations may take the
form of written or oral tests, demonstration of skill or physical ability, experience and
training evaluation, or in the case of promotional examinations, evaluation of prior
performance, or any other assessment device or technique deemed appropriate to measure the knowledge, skills or abilities required to successfully perform the duties of the
job. All persons competing for placement on any one candidate list shall be administered
the same or equivalent forms of the same examination or examination phases, except
as necessary to comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and section 4-61nn, and be required to achieve passing scores on each successive phase and for the
examination as a whole in order to remain in competition. The provisions of this section
shall be the sole determinant for qualification and no other examination shall be permitted by any agency head to further qualify persons seeking appointment except as authorized by the commissioner.
(1967, P.A. 657, S. 28; P.A. 73-184; P.A. 74-166, S. 1, 3; P.A. 77-614, S. 66, 521, 610; P.A. 79-183, S. 2; 79-560, S.
3, 39; 79-621, S. 11, 24; P.A. 83-57; P.A. 92-165, S. 10, 32; P.A. 93-274, S. 2, 7; P.A. 96-168, S. 8, 34; P.A. 98-205, S. 3.)
History: P.A. 73-184 forbade use of other examinations and devices to further qualify applicants for positions; P.A.
74-166 deleted citizenship requirement for examinations; P.A. 77-614 substituted commissioner of administrative services
for personnel commissioner and, effective January 1, 1979, department of human resources for welfare department; P.A.
79-183 required consideration of volunteer service in establishing qualifications for test eligibility; P.A. 79-560 included
income maintenance department in provision re commissioner's establishment of educational requirements; P.A. 79-621
deleted proviso re requirements for positions in human resources and income maintenance departments and added provisions re form and contents of tests; P.A. 83-57 provided that positions subject to accreditation and professional requirements
may have formal education requirements established as a prerequisite to taking an examination for any such position;
P.A. 92-165 changed "test" to "examination" and "employment list" to "candidate list", deleted language prohibiting
establishment of formal education requirements, added provision allowing consideration of formal education requirements
as a condition for taking examinations, and added provision re completion of accreditation, certificate or licensure program
as the sole basis for appointment; P.A. 93-274 authorized the modification of state examinations to accommodate candidates
with disabilities in order to comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, effective June 30, 1993; P.A. 96-168
eliminated provision for consideration of volunteer experience and made technical changes in terminology, effective July
1, 1996; P.A. 98-205 added reference to Sec. 4-61nn.
Cited. 174 C. 606.