NY Civ Serv L § 81 (2021)
2021 New York Laws CVS - Civil Service Article 5 - Personnel Changes Title C - Abolition of Positions; Suspension; Demotion 81 - Preferred Lists; Certification and Reinstatement Therefrom.

§ 81. Preferred  lists; certification and reinstatement therefrom.  1. Establishment of preferred lists; general provisions. The  head  of  any department,  office  or institution in which an employee is suspended or demoted in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  sections  eighty  and eighty-a  of this title shall, upon such suspension or demotion, furnish the state civil service department or appropriate municipal  commission, as  the  case  may  be, a statement showing his name, title or position, date of appointment, and the  date  of  and  reason  for  suspension  or demotion.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of such civil service department or commission, as the case may be, forthwith to  place  the  name  of  such employee  upon  a preferred list, together with others who may have been suspended or demoted from the same or  similar  positions  in  the  same jurisdictional class, and to certify such list, as hereinafter provided, for  filling  vacancies  in the same jurisdictional class; first, in the same or similar position; second, in any position in a  lower  grade  in line of promotion; and third, in any comparable position. Such preferred list  shall  be  certified  for  filling  a vacancy in any such position before certification is made from any other list, including a  promotion eligible list, notwithstanding the fact that none of the persons on such preferred  list  was  suspended  from  or  demoted  in the department or suspension and demotion unit in which such vacancy exists. No other name shall be certified from any other list for any such position until  such preferred  list  is  exhausted.  The  eligibility for reinstatement of a person whose name appears on any such preferred list shall not  continue for  a  period  longer  than  four  years from the date of separation or demotion. An employee whose name was placed on the preferred list and at the time of such placement was on active duty with the armed  forces  of the  United  States, as pursuant to title ten, fourteen or thirty-two of the  United  States  code,  shall  not  be   eligible   for   employment reinstatement  for  a  period  longer  than four years after the date of termination of military duty.   2. Order of certification of names from  preferred  lists.  Except  as hereinafter  provided, the names of persons on a preferred list shall be certified therefrom for reinstatement to a  vacancy  in  an  appropriate position in the order of their original appointments.  (a) Upon the occurrence of a vacancy in an appropriate position in the service of a civil division, except in a city having a population of one million  or  more,  the  names of persons on the preferred list shall be certified to fill such vacancy  in  the  following  order:  (1)  persons suspended  from or demoted in the department or agency within which such vacancy occurs; and (2) persons  suspended  from  or  demoted  in  other departments and agencies in such civil division.  (b) Upon the occurrence of a vacancy in an appropriate position in the state  service,  or  in the service of a city having a population of one million or more, the names of persons on the  preferred  list  shall  be certified  to  fill  such  vacancy in the following order:   (1) persons suspended from or demoted  in  the  department  in  which  such  vacancy exists,  except  that where such vacancy exists in a separate suspension and demotion unit, the names of persons suspended  from  or  demoted  in such  unit,  and  not  those  suspended  from  or  demoted in the entire department, shall be certified first; and (2) all other persons on  such preferred list.   3. Eligibility and order of certification for reinstatement of persons suspended  from  or  demoted in the service of a county in a city wholly including within its limits two or more counties. Any  person  suspended or  demoted  from a position in the service of a county in a city wholly including within its limits two or more counties, where the compensation of such position is paid directly from the treasury of such city,  shall  be  eligible for certification and reinstatement from the preferred list to the same or similar position, or a similar position in a lower  grade in the same occupational field, in the service of any county within such city.    Upon  the occurrence of a vacancy in an appropriate position in the service of any such county, the names of persons  on  the  preferred list  shall  be  certified  to fill such vacancy in the following order: (a) persons suspended from or demoted in the particular county office in which such vacancy occurs; (b) persons  suspended  from  or  demoted  in other  county  offices  in the same county in which such vacancy occurs; (c) persons suspended  from  or  demoted  in  county  offices  in  other counties within such city.   4. Certification of probationers from preferred list.  Notwithstanding the  provisions of subdivisions two and three of this section, no person suspended or demoted prior to the completion of  his  probationary  term shall  be  certified  for  reinstatement  until  the  exhaustion  of the preferred list of all other eligibles thereon.  Upon reinstatement, such probationer shall be required to complete his probationary term.   5. Effect of failure or refusal to accept reinstatement. The state and municipal civil service commissions shall adopt rules providing for  the relinquishment  of eligibility for reinstatement upon failure or refusal to accept reinstatement from a preferred list.   6. Salary upon reinstatement. A person  reinstated  from  a  preferred list  to  his  former  position  or a similar position in the same grade shall receive at least the same salary such person was receiving at  the time of suspension or demotion.   7.  Notwithstanding  any  other  provisions of this chapter, the civil service department or appropriate municipal  commission  may  disqualify for  reinstatement  and  remove  from  a  preferred list the name of any eligible who is physically or mentally disabled for the  performance  of the  duties  of  the position for which such list is established, or who has been guilty of such misconduct as would warrant his  dismissal  from the  public  service,  except  that  a  partially physically handicapped person, who is suspended pursuant to  section  eighty  of  this  chapter because  of  lack of work, but who, within six months of the date of his suspension, is certified for reinstatement to any job  item  having  the same  physical  requirements  as  the job item from which the person was suspended shall not be disqualified because  of  his  physical  handicap unless  a  medical  examination  discloses that because his handicap has become greater he would not be able to satisfactorily  perform  in  such job  item.  No person shall be disqualified pursuant to this subdivision unless he is first given a written statement of the reasons therefor and an opportunity for a hearing at which such reasons shall be  established by  appropriate evidence, and at which such person may be represented by counsel and present evidence. The civil service department or  municipal commission  may  designate  a  person  to  hold  such hearing and report thereon.   8. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this  chapter,  any  person may  voluntarily  remove  his  or  her  name  from  a  preferred list by application to the civil service  department  or  appropriate  municipal commission.   9. An  employee  who  is  eligible  to  be  placed on a preferred list pursuant to this section and  who  elects,  as  a  member  of  a  public employee  retirement  system,  to  retire upon a suspension or demotion, shall  be  placed  on  a  preferred  list  and  shall  be  eligible  for reinstatement from such list.