New York City Charter

Chapter 35: Department of Citywide Administrative Services

Section 813. City civil service commission.

There shall be a city civil service commission, consisting of five members, not more than three of whom shall be members of the same political party. Members shall be appointed by the mayor, from a list of nominations provided by the screening committee established pursuant to subdivision b of this section, for overlapping terms of six years. Of the members first appointed, two shall serve for two years and two for four years and one for six years. The members shall be removable in the manner provided for members of a municipal civil service commission in the civil service law. A vacancy in such commission shall be filled in the same manner as regular appointments for the balance of the unexpired term. The mayor shall designate a member as chair and vice chair, respectively, for one-year terms. Within appropriations for such purposes, the members of the commission shall be reimbursed on a per diem basis for attendance at regularly scheduled meetings and hearings of the commission.
There shall be a screening committee which shall submit to the mayor a list of nominees, which shall include persons with knowledge or experience of the civil service system, or personnel management, or compensation practices, from which the mayor shall make appointments to the city civil service commission. Such screening committee shall consist of six members, of whom four shall be appointed by the mayor and two shall be appointed by the municipal labor committee. The screening committee shall submit the list of nominees upon the occurrence of any vacancy on the commission or at least three months prior to the expiration of the term of any incumbent member.
The commission shall appoint a counsel, who shall not be employed or retained by any other city agency, and may appoint a secretary and such other subordinates as may be necessary within the appropriation therefor.
The civil service commission shall have the power to hear and determine appeals by any person aggrieved by any action or determination of the commissioner made pursuant to paragraphs three, four, five, six, seven and eight of subdivision a or paragraph five of subdivision b of section eight hundred fourteen of this chapter and may affirm, modify, or reverse such action or determination. Any such appeal shall be taken by application in writing to the commission within thirty days after the action or determination appealed from. The commission shall also have the powers and responsibilities of a municipal civil service commission under section seventy-six of the state civil service law. In accordance with the requirements of chapter forty-five, the commission shall promulgate rules of procedure, including rules establishing time schedules, for the hearings and determinations authorized by this section.
The commission, on its own initiative, or upon request of the mayor, council, or commissioner, shall have the power and duty to conduct reviews, studies, or analyses of the administration of personnel in the city, including the classification of titles by the commissioner.
The commission shall prepare and transmit directly to the mayor departmental estimates as required by section two hundred thirty-one. The mayor shall include such proposed appropriations for the commission as a separate agency in the preliminary and executive budgets as are sufficient for the commission to fulfill the obligations assigned to it by this charter or other law.

Section 814. Personnel management; powers and duties of the commissioner.

The commissioner shall have the following powers and duties in addition to the powers and duties of a municipal civil service commission provided in the civil service law, and those vested in the commissioner as head of the department, except where any specific power or duty is assigned to the mayor, heads of city agencies or the civil service commission pursuant to this chapter:
1. To recruit personnel;
2. To make studies in regard to the grading and classifying of positions in the civil service, establish criteria and guidelines for allocating positions to an existing class of positions, and grade and establish classes of positions;
3. To schedule and conduct examinations for positions in the civil service;
4. To establish, promulgate and certify eligible lists in the manner provided in the civil service law, and the rules of the commissioner;
5. To determine the appropriateness of eligible lists for the filing of vacancies in the manner provided in the civil service law and the rules of the commissioner;
6. To investigate applicants for positions in the civil service; to review their qualifications, and to revoke or rescind any certification or appointment by reason of the disqualification of the applicant or appointee under the provisions of the civil service law, and the rules of the commissioner or any other law;
7. To review any appointment of persons as provisional employees within sixty days after appointment to assure compliance with this chapter, the civil service law, and any rule or regulation issued pursuant to this charter or civil service law;
8. To certify payrolls in accordance with the provisions of the civil service law and the rules of the commissioner;
9. To keep records regarding candidates for appointment to the civil service and officers and employees in the civil service;
10. To develop and recommend to the mayor standard rules governing working conditions, vacations and leaves of absence; and career, salary and wage plans providing for the creation, abolition and modification of positions and grades and fixing salaries of persons paid from the city treasury, subject to the provisions of this charter, the civil service law, other applicable statutes and collective bargaining agreements;
11. To administer the city-wide safety incentive, training and development, and other such personnel programs of the city;
12. To establish and enforce uniform procedures and standards to be utilized by city agencies in establishing measures, programs and plans to ensure a fair and effective affirmative employment plan for equal employment opportunity plan for equal employment opportunity for minority group members and women who are employed by, or who seek employment with, city agencies. Such procedures shall include a time schedule for the development of such plans which provides for the preparation by each agency of a draft plan, the review of such draft plan by the department of citywide administrative services, the equal employment practices commission, and such other agency as the mayor requires, and the consideration by the agency of any comments received on such draft plans prior to the adoption of a final plan as required by paragraph nineteen of subdivision a of section eight hundred fifteen;
13. To establish a uniform format to be utilized by all city agencies in the preparation of the quarterly reports required by subdivision i of section eight hundred fifteen. Such format shall provide for the presentation of statistical information regarding total employment, including provisional, seasonal, per-diem and part-time employees, new hiring and promotions in a manner which facilitates understanding of an agency's efforts to provide fair and effective equal opportunity employment for minority group members, women and members of other groups who are employed by, or who seek employment with, city agencies;
14. To develop, in conjunction with other city agencies, a clearinghouse for information on employment and educational programs and services for minority group members and women; and
15. To provide assistance to minority group members and women employed by, or interested in being employed by, city agencies to ensure that such minority group members and women benefit, to the maximum extent possible, from city employment and educational assistance programs.
The commissioner shall have the following powers and duties with respect to the personnel management functions assigned to city agencies pursuant to subdivisions a, b, c, and d of section eight hundred fifteen.
1. To aid in the development of effective and efficient personnel programs and professional personnel staffs in the agencies of the city; and to convene the personnel officers of the agencies from time to time as a personnel council to consider personnel matters of inter-agency or of city-wide concern;
2. To approve agency plans and programs pursuant to paragraphs seven, nine and thirteen of subdivision a of section eight hundred fifteen;
3. To establish and enforce standards, guidelines and criteria for the personnel management functions assigned to the agencies and to audit performance by the agencies of such personnel functions;
4. To reverse or rescind any agency personnel action or decision pursuant to an assignment or delegation of authority in this chapter, upon a finding of abuse after notification to the agency and an opportunity to be heard;
5. To hear and determine appeals by any person aggrieved by any action or determination of the head of an agency made pursuant to paragraphs three, five, seven and eleven of subdivision a of section eight hundred fifteen, subject to review by the civil service commission as provided in subdivision c of section eight hundred thirteen;
6. To delegate to the head of an agency personnel management functions assigned to the commissioner where such delegation is not otherwise prohibited by the civil service law, and pursuant to terms and conditions prescribed by the commissioner;
7. To administer personnel programs of a city-wide nature or common to two or more departments where administration by separate agencies would be impracticable and uneconomical;
8. To annually publish and submit to the mayor, council and the commission on equal employment practices a report on the activities of the department of citywide administrative services and city agencies to provide fair and effective affirmative employment practices to ensure equal employment opportunity for minority group members and women who are employed by, or who seek employment with, city agencies. Such report shall include, but not be limited to, an analysis of the city government workforce and applicants for such employment by agency, title and classification; a description of each agency's employment practices, policies and programs; an analysis of the effectiveness of the city's efforts to provide fair and effective affirmative employment practices to ensure equal employment opportunity for minority group members and women who are employed by, or who seek employment with, city agencies; and such legislative, programmatic and budgetary recommendations for the development, implementation or improvement of such activities as the commissioner deems appropriate.
The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations relating to the personnel policies, programs and activities of city government in furtherance of and consistent with the state civil service law and this chapter. The commissioner shall transmit to the state civil service commission each proposed rule which must be submitted to such commission, including any which establishes or reclassifies titles in the non-competitive or exempt class, within sixty days after the public hearing has been held on such rule.
The commissioner shall, at the time requested by the city civil service commission or the equal employment practices commission, provide each commission with all the information which such commission deems necessary to fulfill the duties assigned to it by the charter. The provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to any information which is required by law to be kept confidential or which is protected by the privileges for attorney-client communications, attorney work products, or material prepared for litigation.
The commissioner shall submit a quarterly report to the mayor, the council, the civil service commission and the equal employment practices commission. Such report shall specify, by agency and by title, including temporary titles:
1. the number of provisional employees at the end of the second month of the quarter;
2. the length of time such provisional employees have served in their positions; and
3. the actions taken by the city to reduce the number of such provisional employees and the length of their service in such positions. Such reports shall be submitted by the last day of March, June, September, and December of each year.

Section 815. Agency heads; powers and duties concerning personnel management.

Subject to the civil service law and applicable provisions of this charter, heads of city agencies shall have the following powers and duties essential for the management of their agencies in addition to powers and duties vested in them pursuant to this charter or other applicable law:
1. To recruit personnel;
2. To participate with the department of citywide administrative services in job analyses for the classification of positions;
3. To allocate individual positions to existing civil service titles;
4. To allocate individual managerial or executive positions to managerial assignment levels;
5. To assist the department of citywide administrative services in the determination of minimum qualifications for classes of positions and to review and evaluate qualifications of candidates for positions in the civil service;
6. To assist the commissioner in the planning and preparation of open competitive examinations;
7. To schedule and conduct tests other than written tests for promotion to competitive class positions;
8. To determine whether to hold an open competitive or promotion examination to fill positions in the civil service subject to disapproval of the commissioner within thirty days;
9. To plan and administer employee incentive and recognition programs;
10. To fill vacant positions within quarterly spending allotments and personnel controls pursuant to section one hundred six;
11. To administer and certify eligible lists for classes of positions unique to the agency;
12. To make appointments to competitive positions from eligible lists pursuant to subsection one of section sixty-one of the state civil service law, which authority shall not be abridged or modified by local law or in any other manner;
13. To establish and administer performance evaluation programs to be used during the probationary period and for promotions, assignments, incentives and training;
14. To conduct training and development programs to improve the skills, performance and career opportunities of employees;
15. To ensure and promote equal opportunity for all persons in appointment, payment of wages, development and advancement;
16. To administer employee safety programs;
17. To maintain personnel records;
18. To perform such other personnel management functions as are delegated by the commissioner pursuant to this chapter or that are not otherwise assigned by this chapter;
19. To establish measures and programs to ensure a fair and effective affirmative employment plan to provide equal employment opportunity for minority group members and women who are employed by, or who seek employment with, the agency and, in accordance with the uniform procedures and standards established by the department of citywide administrative services for this purpose, to adopt and implement an annual plan to accomplish this objective. Copies of such plans shall be filed with the mayor, council, department of citywide administrative services, equal employment practices commission, and city civil service commission and shall be made available for reasonable public inspection; and
20. To provide assistance to minority group members and women interested in being employed by city agencies to ensure that such minority group members and women benefit, to the maximum extent possible, from city employment and educational assistance programs.
Within one year from the effective date of this chapter, the head of each agency shall prepare and submit to the mayor and the commissioner a plan and schedule for the discharge of the powers and duties assigned in this section. No such plan shall take effect until approved by the mayor.
The mayor may modify, suspend, or withdraw for cause any power or duty assigned or delegated to the head of an agency pursuant to paragraphs three, four, seven, eight, and eleven of subdivision a of this section.
Notification prior to each action or decision of an agency pursuant to this chapter which changes the status of an individual employee, a position, or a class of positions shall be provided to the commissioner. The head of each agency shall certify on each payroll that all personnel actions and transactions of the agency conform with the provisions of the civil service law and this chapter, the rules of the commissioner and other applicable law.
Before any new position in the city service shall be created, the agency head shall furnish the commissioner of finance with a certificate stating the title of the class of positions to which the position is to be allocated. If the position is to be allocated to a new class of positions, the agency head shall request of the commissioner, and the commissioner shall furnish to the agency head and the commissioner of finance, a certificate stating the appropriate civil service title for the proposed position, the range of salary of comparable civil service positions and a statement of the class specifications and line of promotion into which such new position will be placed and any such new position shall be created only with the title approved by the commissioner,
The heads of all agencies shall, except as otherwise provided by law, have power to appoint and remove, subject to the provisions of the civil service law, all chiefs of bureaus and all other officers, employees and subordinates in their respective administrations, departments or offices, without reference to the tenure of office of any appointee and to assign them their duties. Nothing herein shall be construed to preclude the mayor from entering into a collective bargaining agreement which provides for a procedure governing the discipline of employees, including their removal, pursuant to section 12-312 of the administrative code of the city of New York for employees of agencies the heads of which are appointed by the mayor.
The heads of city agencies or their designated representatives shall fulfill the requirements for agency participation in matters affecting the management of the agency in advance of collective bargaining negotiations affecting employees of any agency contained in section eleven hundred seventy-seven.
The head of each city agency shall ensure that such agency does not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment as prohibited by federal, state and local law.
The head of each city agency shall quarterly publish and submit to the mayor, council, department of citywide administrative services, and the equal employment practices commission a report on the agency's efforts during the previous quarter to implement the plan adopted pursuant to paragraph nineteen of subdivision a of section eight hundred fifteen.
The head of each city agency shall include in all employment retention, recruitment, training and promotional program literature, advertisements, solicitations and job applications, such language as may be necessary to effectuate the purpose of this chapter.
The head of each city agency shall require each employment agency, or authorized representative of workers with which it has a collective bargaining or other agreement or understanding and which is involved in the performance of recruitment and retention with the agency to furnish a written statement that such employment agency, labor union or representative shall not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment pursuant to federal, state or local law and that such union or representative will cooperate in the implementation of the agency's obligations pursuant to this chapter.