The director must prepare and conduct employment tests for classified service positions, give public notice, and may reject or remove applicants in specified cases. Veterans can receive five- or ten-point preference after passing an entrance exam, depending on their service and disability status.
(a) General. The director shall prepare and conduct tests for the purpose of enabling him or her to establish employment registers for the various classes of positions in the classified service. The tests shall be prepared and conducted so as to take into consideration elements of character, reputation, education, aptitude, experience, knowledge, physical fitness, and other pertinent matters. Such tests may be given in writing, orally, or in any other manner which will enable the director to determine the fitness of the applicant for acceptance into some class of position in the classified service. Public notice of the time, place, and general scope of every test shall be given by the director. Promotional tests shall be conducted in like manner and embrace the same subject matter as initial tests for similar classified employment. Admissions to test shall be open to all persons who reasonably appear to the director to possess the required qualifications, may be lawfully appointed to a position in the class for which a list is to be established, and pays the fees, if any, prescribed by the rules. The director, however, may reject the application of any person for admission to test, or may strike the name of any person from a list, or refuse to certify the name of a person on a list for a position, if he or she finds that such person: (1) lacks any of the required qualifications; (2) is physically unfit to perform any of the duties of the position in which he or she seeks employment; (3) is addicted to the habitual use of drugs or intoxicating liquors; (4) has been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude; (5) has been dismissed from public services for delinquency; (6) has made a false statement of a material fact pertaining to his or her qualifications and service; and (7) practiced or attempted to practice any fraud or deception in his or her application or test, or in attempting to secure appointment. The names of persons employed by the city on May 14, 1992, shall be placed on the employment roster without rating, and they shall be subject to all the provisions of this part, except a certificate from the city commission that any employee of the city has been employed in the same line of service for a period of two years and that such employee has rendered satisfactory service to the city shall relieve such person of taking any test authorized by this part, to continue to hold such position provided such employee is otherwise qualified. (b) Veteran. Upon successfully passing an entrance examination for a position in the classified service, five-point preference is given to honorably separated veterans who served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States during any war (the official dates of war service are April 6, 1917-July 2, 1921, and December 7, 1941-April 28, 1952); during the period April 28, 1952, through July 1, 1955; in any campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge or service medal has been authorized; for more than 180 consecutive days, any part of which occurred after January 31, 1955, and before October 15, 1976. (An initial period of active duty of training under the six-month Reserve or National Guard programs does not count.) Ten-point preference is given to veterans who served on active duty in the armed forces at any time, and who have a service-connected disability or are receiving compensation, disability retirement benefits, or pension under laws administered by the Veterans Administration, Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, or Marine Corps. A veteran who has been awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action is considered to have a service-connected disability.