§15-2-7 Cadet selection board; qualifications for and appointment to membership in division; civilian employees.
§15-2-7. Cadet selection board; qualifications for and appointment to membership in division; civilian employees.
(a) The superintendent shall establish within the West Virginia state police a cadet selection board which shall be representative of commissioned and noncommissioned officers within the division.
(b) The superintendent shall appoint a member to the position of trooper from among the top three names on the current list of eligible applicants established by the cadet selection board.
(c) Preference in making appointments shall be given whenever possible to honorably discharged members of the armed forces of the United States and to residents of West Virginia. Each applicant for appointment shall be a person not less than twenty-one years of age of sound constitution and good moral character; shall be required to pass any mental and physical examination; and meet other requirements as may be provided for in rules promulgated by the cadet selection board: Provided, That a former member may, at the discretion of the superintendent, be reenlisted.
(d) No person may be barred from becoming a member of the division because of his or her religious or political convictions.
(e) The superintendent shall adhere to the principles of equal employment opportunity set forth in article eleven, chapter five of this code and shall take positive steps to encourage applications for division membership from females and minority groups within the state. An annual report shall be filed with the Legislature on or before the first day of January of each year by the superintendent which includes a summary of the efforts and the effectiveness of those efforts intended to recruit females, African-Americans and other minorities into the ranks of the state police.
(f) Except for the superintendent, no person may be appointed or enlisted to membership in the division at a grade or rank above the grade of trooper.
(g) The superintendent shall appoint such civilian employees as may be necessary and all employees may be included in the classified service of the civil service system except those in positions exempt under the provisions of article six, chapter twenty-nine of this code.
(h) Effective the first day of July, two thousand one, civilian employees with a minimum of five years' service shall receive a salary increase equal to one hundred dollars a year for each year of service as a civilian employee. Every three years thereafter, civilian employees who have five or more years of service shall receive an annual salary increase of three hundred dollars. The increases in salary provided by this subsection are in addition to any other increases to which the civilian employees might otherwise be entitled.