A PEF win in Albany County Supreme Court has blocked a move by the state Department of Civil Service to switch 29 state medical job titles to non-competitive.
“Most importantly, Judge Joseph C. Teresi recognized the danger that letting the state get away with this switch could pry open the door to cronyism and a wholesale raid on all licensed and certified professional titles throughout state service,” said PEF President Ken Brynien. “Judge Teresi ‘got it’ and he slammed that door with a bang.”
“We saw the reclassification of these titles by the DCS as a serious threat to the merit-and-fitness standard and the fair competition called for by the state constitution,” said PEF General Counsel William Seamon. “We tried to stop it when it came before the state Civil Service Commission, and later when it went to the governor for his approval. Although they turned deaf ears, Justice Teresi heard us. He saw the threat plainly and he blocked it.”
However, Seamon cautioned this may not be the end of this battle. “While we are very pleased with this decision, we recognize the state may appeal it to a higher court,” he said.
The 29 titles DCS reclassified in March 2008 to non-competitive were all licensed and certified medical professional positions, including physicians, psychiatrists, dentists and veterinarians. It affected nearly 1,700 filled positions, as well as many vacancies.
DCS claimed:
• Competitive exams are redundant since employees in these titles must have advanced degrees and a license or certification;
• Competitive testing needlessly delays hiring and hinders recruitment; and
• Training and experience exams add no valuable information for assessing applicants’ abilities, merit or fitness for positions.
“That rationale could be extended to justify the reclassification to non-competitive of all licensed and certified professionals in the state’s competitive class,” said Deputy General Counsel Lisa King.
“That would pose an extreme threat to the integrity and professionalism of these key positions throughout state service, and it could endanger the job security of thousands of future PEF members whose layoff rights and promotion opportunities would be seriously diminished,” King said.
In his decision, Teresi said, “While (this) proceeding is limited to the subject 29 titles, denial of (PEF’s) petition would be likely to have broad implications, justifying reclassification of essentially all licensed and certified professionals in the civil service of this state.”
Teresi based his decision to overturn the reclassifications on the state constitution’s “preference for competitive classification as ‘a reflection of our citizens’ insistence that competence, rather than cronyism, should determine civil service appointments’ and ‘because it provides, presumably, an objective and verifiable measurement of the candidates’ merit.’”
Teresi found the state submitted no proof to justify changing its longstanding policy of applying a training and experience examination to competitively rank candidates for the titles. He said the state’s own job descriptions clearly indicate work experience is a major factor in assessing candidates.
