D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 6, r. 6-B876
In this section, the following terms have the meaning ascribed:
Disposition - The final status of individuals considered for appointment from a register of eligibles, indicated on the register by means of the coding system herein described.
Register of eligibles (register) - A list of all individuals eligible for consideration for appointment to a position.
Promotion Board - A group of Fire Department (Department) officers appointed by the Fire Chief, as described in § 876.12, to determine the fitness for promotion of eligible Sergeant, Lieutenant, and Captain candidates.
To be eligible to take a promotional examination, the candidate shall meet the following time-in-rank requirements:
The personnel authority shall establish a register of eligible candidates who complete the written examination phase of the selection process for Fire Sergeant, Lieutenant, and Captain positions.
Registers established under this section shall be structured in descending order of the candidate's rating. The rating reflects the candidate's final score on the written examination plus any additional points for service and/or education.
Registers established under this section shall include the rank, names, social security numbers, and ratings of all eligible candidates.
Candidates on the register shall be eligible for appointment only if they successfully complete all stages of the selection process, as specified in this section.
The register shall be in compliance with any applicable provisions of the Affirmative Action Plan of the Department 876.8
The Assistant Director shall transmit the register of eligibles to the Fire Chief (Chief), who shall designate the Liaison Personnel of the Department (LPD) as the custodian of the register. The Assistant Fire Chief, Operations, shall be designated as the LPD.
After receiving the register from the Chief, the LPD shall indicate the final status of each candidate in the "Disposition" column on the register, using the following coding system, and in accordance with the instructions set forth in this section:
The LPD shall establish a file for each candidate whose name is referred to the Promotion Board. Each file shall contain all correspondence and documents concerning the consideration of the candidate for promotion.
The Trial Board or other administrative system for corrective or adverse action shall notify the Fire Chief of any case initiated or any action taken on any case which may come before it, if that case involves a candidate on a promotion register as set forth in this section.
The Chief shall, whenever one (1) or more promotions are to be made, establish a Promotion Board (Board) in accordance with the following requirements:
The Chief shall submit to the Board for its consideration nine (9) more names than the number of promotions to be made. All such names shall be submitted in rank order from the top of the appropriate register.
The Chief shall submit to the Board the names of the remaining candidates on a register when, for any reason, there are fewer than ten (10) eligible candidates remaining on the register.
The LPD shall schedule each candidate to appear before the Board.
The names of candidates who have declined to appear before the Board shall be coded "A" in the "Disposition" column of the register. These candidates shall not be permitted further consideration for positions filled from this register.
The Board shall convene in order to determine each candidate's fitness for promotion based on the following:
Candidates who fail to appear before the Board as scheduled, upon their request, may be permitted by the LPD one (1) additional opportunity to appear before the Board.
The names of candidates who have either (a) failed to appear before the Board and who have not requested rescheduling, or (b) failed to appear before the Board after rescheduling shall be coded "B" in the "Disposition" column of the register. These candidates shall not be permitted further consideration for positions filled from this register.
All Board proceedings shall be electronically or stenographically recorded and shall remain in the possession of the LPD.
The proceedings shall be made available for inspection upon the written request to the LPD of any candidate evaluated by the Board for the duration of the register and for two (2) years thereafter. Each candidate shall be provided access only to that information which is relevant to his or her evaluation.
The Board shall evaluate the fitness of candidates using standardized procedures and forms approved by the Chief and the Director, DCOP, in order to arrive at a just and fair recommendation concerning promotion.
A candidate shall be recommended for promotion by the Board to the Chief if a majority of the members of the Board so recommend.
When the Board unanimously determines that there is sufficient evidence of unfitness for promotion, the Board shall recommend to the Chief that the name of the candidate be removed from the register.
If a candidate is not recommended for promotion by a majority of the members of the Board and the Board does not unanimously determine that the candidate is unfit for promotion, the Board shall recommend to the Chief that the candidate not be promoted at that time. The name of the candidate then shall be placed in its original rank-ordered position on the register for consideration for promotion by the next Board to be convened.
In each case where the Board recommends that a candidate not be promoted at that time or that a candidate is unfit for promotion and should have his or her name removed from the register, the candidate shall be given a written summary of the findings upon which the Board's decision was based by the LPD within five (5) days, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, of the Board's decision. Upon request, the candidate shall also be given access to the proceedings as specified in § 876.21.
The candidate shall also be advised by the LPD that he or she may submit a written appeal to the Chief, within five (5) days, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, from the date of receipt of the written summary, informing him or her of the basis for the recommendation to refrain from promotion.
The Chief shall take action on the appeal, in writing, within fifteen (15) days. An allotment of positions equal to the number of appeals submitted to the Chief shall be set aside by the Board and shall not be filled until such appeals have been acted upon by the Chief.
The Chief's determination, under § 876.28, shall be considered the final agency decision on an employee grievance, which the candidate may then appeal.
If the Chief upholds the appealed recommendation(s) of the Board, the Chief shall submit to the Board for its consideration, an equal number of additional names to replace those determined to be unfit for promotion and those not recommended for promotion at that time. Such additional names shall be referred in rank order from among those candidates who remain on the register. These additional candidates will be considered by the Board as described in §§ 876.15 through 876.29.
Upon consideration of a sufficient number of candidates, nine (9) plus the number of promotions to be made at the time, the Board shall list these candidates according to their rank-ordered standing on the register and shall submit this list to the Chief.
The Chief shall select a candidate for promotion from the list of candidates recommended for promotion by the Board.
Those candidates recommended by the Board for promotion but who are not selected by the Chief shall retain their rank-ordered standing on the register. Their names shall be submitted to the next Board to be convened and shall then be referred by the Board to the Chief for reconsideration without re-examination. Referral of these candidates to subsequent Boards in order of their standing on the register shall proceed until the register has expired or until these candidates have been selected for promotion by the Chief.
Those candidates who were not recommended by the Board for promotion and whose names are to remain on the register shall retain their rank-ordered standing on the register. They shall be referred to the next Board to be convened and shall be re-examined by this Board as described in §§ 876.15 through 876.29.
If this Board then recommends these candidates for promotion, their names shall be submitted to the Chief as described in § 876.31.
If this Board does not recommend these candidates for promotion at that time, they shall retain their rank-ordered standing on the register and shall be referred to subsequent Boards for reconsideration in accordance with the requirements of § 876.34.
If this Board recommends that the name of the candidate be removed from the register, the candidate shall be treated in accordance with the requirement of §§ 876.24 through 876.29.
After all appeals within the agency have been exhausted, the names of those candidates who are to be removed from the register shall be coded "C" in the "Disposition" column of the register. These candidates shall not be permitted consideration for positions filled from this register.
Following selection for promotion by the Chief, each candidate shall be required to successfully complete a medical examination prior to appointment as a Sergeant, Lieutenant, or Captain.
The LPD shall schedule the medical examination and notify each candidate of the date and time at which to report to the Police and Fire Clinic for the pre-promotional medical examination.
The names of candidates who have declined to undergo the medical examination shall be coded "D" in the "Disposition" column of the register. These candidates shall not be permitted further consideration for the positions filled from this register.
Each candidate shall report to the Police and Fire Clinic for the medical examination. The staff of the Clinic shall arrange for all necessary tests, including x-rays and other required laboratory procedures.
Candidates who fail to report for or to complete the medical examination, upon their request and for adequate reason, may be permitted by the LPD one (1) additional opportunity to take/complete the medical examination.
The Board of Police and Fire Surgeons shall make the medical determinations for each candidate and shall indicate its findings on the Medical Survey Form (PD305 or FD35), which shall be returned directly to the LPD along with the results of all other medical tests.
The LPD shall review the Medical Survey Form of each candidate and shall ensure that all reasons for medical disqualification are clearly indicated and recorded on that form.
Those candidates who were medically disqualified by the Board of Police and Fire Surgeons shall be given the reason for their medical disqualification in writing by the LPD within five (5) days, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, of such decision.
Candidates shall also be advised by the LPD that they may submit, within fifteen (15) days from the date of the letter informing them of their medical disqualification, a written request to the LPD to refer the case to the Board of Police and Fire Surgeons for reconsideration. The results of this reconsideration shall be the final determination of that Board.
The LPD shall inform candidates in writing within five (5) days, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, of the results of the final medical determination under § 876.47 and of their right of appeal to the Chief. The candidate may then appeal to the Chief in accordance with the requirements of §§ 876.27 through 876.29.
The Chief's determination regarding an appeal submitted under § 876.48 shall be considered as the final agency decision on an employee grievance.
The candidate may appeal the Chief's decision either to the Office of Employee Appeals, or in the manner specified in an Agreement with a labor organization, as appropriate under such agreement, and shall be informed of such rights in the issuance of the Chief's final decision.
The names of candidates who failed to report for the medical examination shall be coded "E" in the "Disposition" column of the register. The names of candidates who failed to complete the medical examination shall be coded "F" The names of candidates deemed to be unsuitable on the basis of the medical examination shall be coded "G." These candidates shall retain their rank-ordered standing on the register, and as further promotions are to be made, their names shall be submitted for consideration by the next Board to be convened.
Candidates whose effective date of promotion exceeds a reasonable period of time as determined by the LPD (approximately 120 days) from the date of the medical examination may be subject to re-examination by the Board of Police and Fire Surgeons.
At any time during the selection process, the Director of Personnel may request the Chief to review the findings of the Promotion Board in regard to the qualifications of a candidate. Such review and any resultant appeal by the candidate shall be conducted in accordance with §§ 876.26 through 876.29 and §§ 876.46 through 876.50.
The Chief shall contact each selectee in writing to tender an offer of promotion, inform the selectee as to where and when to report for promotion, and indicate the procedures for declining the appointment.
The names of candidates who have been appointed shall be coded "H" in the "Disposition" column of the register.
The names of candidates who have declined appointment shall be coded "I" in the "Disposition" column of the register. These candidates shall not be permitted further consideration for positions filled from this register.
The LPD shall document the disposition of each candidate on the register prior to the return of the register through the Assistant Director to the Recruitment and Examining Division. The LPD shall also provide such documentation, through the Assistant Director, to the Recruitment and Examining Division.
The Assistant Director shall prepare all candidate appointment forms for those candidates who have accepted offers of appointment and shall secure the necessary signatures, as specified on the forms.
Successive registers shall be established at 12:01 a.m. on October 16 of the even-numbered years. However, the period of eligibility under any special examination shall expire when the next regularly qualifying list becomes effective.
The LPD shall return the register of eligibles through the Assistant Director to the DCOP Recruitment and Examining Division before a subsequent register is transmitted to the LPD.
Promotional files are to be retained by the Department for a minimum of three (3) years before being retired to the appropriate records center.
To the extent that any provision of these regulations, other than § 876.2, conflicts with any provision of a contract with a labor organization, the provision of the contract shall prevail.
D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 6, r. 6-B876