N.Y. CVS Law § 81 — New York Code / Act CVS / Article 5 / Title C / Section 81
Preferred lists; certification and reinstatement therefrom
Status: in_force

§ 81. Preferred lists; certification and reinstatement therefrom.  1.\nEstablishment of preferred lists; general provisions. The head of any\ndepartment, office or institution in which an employee is suspended or\ndemoted in accordance with the provisions of section eighty of this\ntitle shall, upon such suspension or demotion, furnish the state civil\nservice department or appropriate municipal commission, as the case may\nbe, a statement showing his name, title or position, date of\nappointment, and the date of and reason for suspension or demotion. It\nshall be the duty of such civil service department or commission, as the\ncase may be, forthwith to place the name of such employee upon a\npreferred list, together with others who may have been suspended or\ndemoted from the same or similar positions in the same jurisdictional\nclass, and to certify such list, as hereinafter provided, for filling\nvacancies in the same jurisdictional class; first, in the same or\nsimilar position; second, in any position in a lower grade in line of\npromotion; and third, in any comparable position. Such preferred list\nshall be certified for filling a vacancy in any such position before\ncertification is made from any other list, including a promotion\neligible list, notwithstanding the fact that none of the persons on such\npreferred list was suspended from or demoted in the department or\nsuspension and demotion unit in which such vacancy exists. No other name\nshall be certified from any other list for any such position until such\npreferred list is exhausted. The eligibility for reinstatement of a\nperson whose name appears on any such preferred list shall not continue\nfor a period longer than four years from the date of separation or\ndemotion. An employee whose name was placed on the preferred list and at\nthe time of such placement was on active duty with the armed forces of\nthe United States, as pursuant to title ten, fourteen or thirty-two of\nthe United States code, shall not be eligible for employment\nreinstatement for a period longer than four years after the date of\ntermination of military duty.\n  2. Order of certification of names from preferred lists. Except as\nhereinafter provided, the names of persons on a preferred list shall be\ncertified therefrom for reinstatement to a vacancy in an appropriate\nposition in the order of their original appointments.\n  (a) Upon the occurrence of a vacancy in an appropriate position in the\nservice of a civil division, except in a city having a population of one\nmillion or more, the names of persons on the preferred list shall be\ncertified to fill such vacancy in the following order: (1) persons\nsuspended from or demoted in the department or agency within which such\nvacancy occurs; and (2) persons suspended from or demoted in other\ndepartments and agencies in such civil division.\n  (b) Upon the occurrence of a vacancy in an appropriate position in the\nstate service, or in the service of a city having a population of one\nmillion or more, the names of persons on the preferred list shall be\ncertified to fill such vacancy in the following order:  (1) persons\nsuspended from or demoted in the department in which such vacancy\nexists, except that where such vacancy exists in a separate suspension\nand demotion unit, the names of persons suspended from or demoted in\nsuch unit, and not those suspended from or demoted in the entire\ndepartment, shall be certified first; and (2) all other persons on such\npreferred list.\n  3. Eligibility and order of certification for reinstatement of persons\nsuspended from or demoted in the service of a county in a city wholly\nincluding within its limits two or more counties. Any person suspended\nor demoted from a position in the service of a county in a city wholly\nincluding within its limits two or more counties, where the compensation\nof such position is paid directly from the treasury of such city, shall\nbe eligible for certification and reinstatement from the preferred list\nto the same or similar position, or a similar position in a lower grade\nin the same occupational field, in the service of any county within such\ncity.  Upon the occurrence of a vacancy in an appropriate position in\nthe service of any such county, the names of persons on the preferred\nlist shall be certified to fill such vacancy in the following order:\n(a) persons suspended from or demoted in the particular county office in\nwhich such vacancy occurs; (b) persons suspended from or demoted in\nother county offices in the same county in which such vacancy occurs;\n(c) persons suspended from or demoted in county offices in other\ncounties within such city.\n  4. Certification of probationers from preferred list.  Notwithstanding\nthe provisions of subdivisions two and three of this section, no person\nsuspended or demoted prior to the completion of his probationary term\nshall be certified for reinstatement until the exhaustion of the\npreferred list of all other eligibles thereon.  Upon reinstatement, such\nprobationer shall be required to complete his probationary term.\n  5. Effect of failure or refusal to accept reinstatement. The state and\nmunicipal civil service commissions shall adopt rules providing for the\nrelinquishment of eligibility for reinstatement upon failure or refusal\nto accept reinstatement from a preferred list.\n  6. Salary upon reinstatement. A person reinstated from a preferred\nlist to his former position or a similar position in the same grade\nshall receive at least the same salary such person was receiving at the\ntime of suspension or demotion.\n  7. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, the civil\nservice department or appropriate municipal commission may disqualify\nfor reinstatement and remove from a preferred list the name of any\neligible who is physically or mentally disabled for the performance of\nthe duties of the position for which such list is established, or who\nhas been guilty of such misconduct as would warrant his dismissal from\nthe public service, except that a partially physically handicapped\nperson, who is suspended pursuant to section eighty of this chapter\nbecause of lack of work, but who, within six months of the date of his\nsuspension, is certified for reinstatement to any job item having the\nsame physical requirements as the job item from which the person was\nsuspended shall not be disqualified because of his physical handicap\nunless a medical examination discloses that because his handicap has\nbecome greater he would not be able to satisfactorily perform in such\njob item. No person shall be disqualified pursuant to this subdivision\nunless he is first given a written statement of the reasons therefor and\nan opportunity for a hearing at which such reasons shall be established\nby appropriate evidence, and at which such person may be represented by\ncounsel and present evidence. The civil service department or municipal\ncommission may designate a person to hold such hearing and report\nthereon.\n  8. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, any person\nmay voluntarily remove his or her name from a preferred list by\napplication to the civil service department or appropriate municipal\ncommission.\n  9. An employee who is eligible to be placed on a preferred list\npursuant to this section and who elects, as a member of a public\nemployee retirement system, to retire upon a suspension or demotion,\nshall be placed on a preferred list and shall be eligible for\nreinstatement from such list.\n