Alabama § 36-26-15 - Tests for Establishment of Employment Registers for Positions in Classified Service; Preferences for Veterans, Etc.; Cooperation of Board with Federal Government, Etc., in Establishing and Administering Standards of Personnel Qualifications, Pay Plans, Etc.

§ 36-26-15. Tests for Establishment of Employment Registers for Positions in Classified Service; Preferences for Veterans, Etc.; Cooperation of Board with Federal Government, Etc., in Establishing and Administering Standards of Personnel Qualifications, Pay Plans, Etc.

(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

(1) ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE MEMBER. An individual who is on active duty as a member of the National Guard or a reserve or active component of the Armed Forces of the United States.

(2) VETERAN. An individual who has ever served in the National Guard or a reserve or active component of the Armed Forces of the United States and has been honorably discharged.

(b)(1) The director shall conduct tests to establish employment registers for the various classes of positions in the classified service. The tests shall take into consideration elements of character, reputation, education, aptitude, experience, knowledge, skill, personality, physical fitness, and other pertinent matters and may be written or oral or any other demonstration of fitness as the director may determine. For a promotion test, the qualifications shall include the requirement that an applicant be employed in a position within a class and for a length of time, as the director shall specify, subject to the rules.

(2) Public notice of the time, place, and general scope of every test shall be given. The director, with the approval of the board, shall determine the qualifications for admission to any test. Admission to tests shall be open to all individuals who appear to possess the required qualifications and may be lawfully appointed to a position in the class for which a list is to be established. No fee may be charged for admission to a test. The director may reject the application of any individual for admission to a test, strike the name of any individual from a list, or refuse to certify the name of any individual on a list for a position if the director finds that the individual:

a. Lacks any of the required qualifications or is physically unfit to perform effectively the duties of the position in which he or she seeks employment;

b. Is addicted to the habitual excessive use of drugs or intoxicating liquor;

c. Has been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude or is guilty of any notoriously disgraceful conduct;

d. Has been dismissed from the public service for delinquency; or

e. Has made a false statement of a material fact or practiced or attempted to practice any fraud or deception in his or her application or test or in attempting to secure appointment.

(c)(1) A veteran, and the spouse of a veteran, shall have five points added to any earned ratings in examination for entrance to the classified service.

(2) The spouse of an active duty service member shall have five points added to any earned ratings.

(3) A veteran who establishes by official records of the United States that he or she has a service-connected disability and because of the disability is entitled to pension, compensation, or disability allowance under existing laws, and the spouse of such a veteran, shall have 10 points added to any earned ratings.

(4) The surviving spouse of an active duty service member who died in the line of duty shall have 10 points added to any earned ratings.

(d)(1) In entering upon registers the name of an individual entitled to five additional points, the individual shall take the place to which his or her rating entitles him or her on the register with nonveterans, the earned ratings augmented by the five points to which he or she is entitled, and shall be certified when his or her rating is reached.

(2) The name of an individual with military preference with an augmented rating shall be entered ahead of the name of an individual without military preference when their ratings are the same.

(3) The name of an individual entitled to a 10-point preference shall be placed ahead of all others on a register with the same rating, including individuals entitled to a five-point preference and individuals without military preference, and shall then be certified in the order of their augmented ratings.

(e) An appointing officer who passes over an eligible veteran and selects a nonveteran with the same or lower rating shall file with the director the reasons for so doing, which shall become a part of the veteran’s record but may not be made available to anyone other than the veteran except in the discretion of the appointing officer.

(f) When reductions are being made in any part of the classified service, individuals entitled to military preference in appointment shall be the last to be discharged, dropped, or reduced in rank or salary if their record is good or if their efficiency rating is equal to that of any employee in competition with them who is retained in the service in their department.

(g) The board, in establishing and administering standards of personnel qualifications, pay plans, and tests both for current and future personnel, shall cooperate with and avail itself fully of the advice and assistance of the appointing authorities involved and of the federal government in those departments administered in whole or in part with federal funds.