Rhode Island § 36-4-31 - Merit System

§ 36-4-31. Temporary appointment when no list available.

(a)(1) Whenever it is not possible to certify the required number of eligible persons for appointment to a vacancy in the classified service because no appropriate list exists, the appointing authority may nominate a person to the personnel administrator and if the nominee is found by the personnel administrator to have had experience and education that appear to qualify him or her for the position and meets such other requirements as are established by this chapter and the personnel rules, he or she may be temporarily appointed to fill the vacancy. All persons with temporary status who have been or who shall be temporarily appointed to those vacancies shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority or until removed in accordance with other provisions of this chapter. The personnel administrator shall within one year of the appointment of the temporary appointee establish an appropriate list. In the event the personnel administrator has failed or fails to establish an appropriate list within one year of a temporary appointment, the temporary employee shall become a provisional employee until a suitable list is established, at which time the appropriate merit system laws, rules, and regulations shall apply.

(2) Whenever any provisional employee who is serving in a competitive branch position within the classified service completes five (5) consecutive years of satisfactory service, and the personnel administrator has failed to establish a timely appropriate list as required by subsection (a)(1) during that time, that provisional employee shall be deemed to have qualified for his or her position and shall be awarded permanent status, without the need of examination.

(3) When an appropriate list is established for a position held by a temporary or provisional appointee, the position shall be deemed to be vacant for the purposes of certification and appointment, and no salary or other compensation shall be paid to any temporary or provisional appointee for services in the position for more than fifteen (15) days after certification of at least three (3) available eligibles from the appropriate list.

(b) Any employee who holds temporary or provisional status for at least twelve (12) consecutive months in the class in which he or she is serving and who takes the appropriate examination for the position shall receive in addition to his or her test score five (5) additional points for each year of state service, which shall be added to his or her test score; provided, however, that in no case shall an employee receive credit for more than four (4) years of service. An employee who holds temporary provisional status for at least twelve (12) consecutive months in the class in which he or she is serving and is found to be reachable for certification to the position he or she holds shall be appointed to the position unless the appointing authority certifies to the personnel administrator that the individual’s service has been unsatisfactory.