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| [ Engrossed ] | [ House Amendment 001 ] |
92_HB1689
LRB9201934MWpk
1 AN ACT in relation to fire protection.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5 Fire Department Fair Testing Act.
6 Section 5. Other Acts; minimum standard. This Act is to
7 be applied in conjunction with the Illinois Municipal Code,
8 the Fire Protection District Act, and the Illinois Public
9 Labor Relations Act and is to be considered a minimum
10 standard for fire department promotions.
11 Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
12 "Affected department" or "department" means a municipal
13 fire department or the fire department operated by a fire
14 protection district. "Affected department" does not include
15 fire departments operated by the State, a university, a
16 county, a municipality with a population or over 1,000,000,
17 or any unit of local government other than a municipality or
18 Fire Protection District.
19 "Appointing authority" means a Board of Fire and Police
20 Commissioners, a Board of Fire Commissioners, Civil Service
21 Commissioners, a Superintendent or Department Head, a Fire
22 Protection District Board of Trustees, or any other entity
23 having the authority to administer and grant promotions in an
24 affected department.
25 "Promotion" means any permanent advancement in rank
26 within the affected department for which an examination is
27 ordinarily required. "Promotion" does not include: (i) a
28 temporary appointment of less than 180 days to an
29 administrative or executive position for which an examination
30 is not ordinarily required; (ii) any appointment to a
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1 position held at the pleasure of the appointing authority
2 that has previously been exempted by a home rule
3 municipality; except that after the effective date of this
4 Act no home rule municipality may exempt any future or
5 existing ranks from the provisions of this Act except for
6 those provided in item (iii) of this paragraph; or (iii)
7 appointment as the Superintendent, Chief, or other chief
8 executive officer and all persons in the rank immediately
9 below the Superintendent, Chief, or other chief executive
10 officer of an affected department.
11 "Preliminary promotion list" means the rank order of
12 eligible candidates established in accordance with subsection
13 (b) of Section 25 before the application of veteran's
14 preference points. A person on the preliminary promotion
15 list who is eligible for a veteran's preference under the
16 laws and agreements applicable to the appointing authority
17 may file a written application for that preference within 10
18 days after the initial posting of the preliminary promotion
19 list. The preference must be calculated in accordance with
20 Section 60 and applied as an addition to the person's total
21 point score on the examination. The appointing authority
22 must make adjustments to the preliminary promotion list based
23 on any veteran's preference claimed, and the final adjusted
24 promotional list shall then be posted by the appointing
25 authority.
26 "Final adjusted promotion list" means the promotion list
27 for the position that is in effect on the date the position
28 is created or the vacancy occurs. If there is no final
29 adjusted promotion list in effect for that position on that
30 date, or if all persons on the current final adjusted
31 promotion list for that position refuse the promotion, the
32 affected department may not make a permanent promotion until
33 a new final adjusted promotion list has been prepared in
34 accordance with this Act, but may make a temporary
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1 appointment to fill the vacancy. Temporary appointments may
2 not exceed 180 days.
3 Each component of the promotional test must be scored on
4 a scale of 100 points. The component scores must then be
5 reduced by the weighting factor assigned to the component on
6 the test, and the scores of all components must be added to
7 produce a total score based on a scale of 100 points.
8 Section 15. Application of the Act.
9 (a) This Act applies to all positions in an affected
10 department, except those specifically excluded in the
11 definition of "promotion" in Section 5 of this Act that are
12 not subject to a clause in a collective bargaining agreement
13 in effect on the effective date of this Act. This Act
14 applies to all promotions for all positions, for which
15 promotions are subject to a collective agreement on the
16 effective date of this Act, and to all promotions made after
17 the expiration or renewal of a collective bargaining
18 agreement, unless otherwise agreed as provided by paragraph
19 (2) of subsection (e) of this Section. Existing promotional
20 lists shall continue to be valid until after their expiration
21 dates or up to a maximum of 3 years after the effective date
22 of this Act.
23 (b) Notwithstanding any statute, ordinance, rule, or
24 other law to the contrary, all promotions in an affected
25 department to which this Act applies must be administered in
26 the manner provided for in this Act. Provisions of the
27 Illinois Municipal Code, the Fire Protection District Act,
28 ordinances and or rules adopted pursuant to that Code or Act,
29 and other laws relating to promotions in affected departments
30 shall continue to apply to the extent that they are
31 compatible with this Act, but in the event of conflict
32 between this Act and any other law, this Act shall control.
33 (c) In accordance with subsection (i) of Section 6 of
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1 Article VII of the Illinois Constitution, this Act is a
2 limitation on the concurrent exercise by home rule units of
3 powers and functions exercised by the public bodies of the
4 State. A home rule unit or a non-home rule unit may not
5 administer promotions in its fire department in a manner
6 inconsistent with this Act.
7 (d) This Act does not apply to any municipality with a
8 population over 1,000,000.
9 (e) This Act is intended to serve as a minimum standard
10 and shall be construed to authorize and not to limit:
11 (1) An appointing authority from establishing
12 different or supplemental promotional criteria are
13 components, provided that the criteria are job-related
14 and applied uniformly to identify merit factors for the
15 promotion of a candidate to a higher rank.
16 (2) The negotiation by an employer and an exclusive
17 representative of clauses within a collective bargaining
18 agreement relating to conditions or procedures for the
19 promotion of employees who are members of bargaining
20 units who are not specifically excluded under the
21 definition of "promotion" in Section 10 of this Act.
22 Section 20. Promotion process.
23 (a) For the purpose of granting promotions to any rank
24 or position to which this Act applies, the appointing
25 authority must from time to time, as necessary, administer a
26 promotion process in accordance with this Act.
27 (b) Eligibility requirements to participate in the
28 promotion process may include a minimum requirement as to
29 length of employment, education, training, and certification
30 in subjects and skills related to fire fighting. After the
31 effective date of this Act, any eligibility requirements must
32 be published at least one year before the date of the
33 beginning of the promotion process. All members of the
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1 affected department must be given an equal opportunity to
2 meet those eligibility requirements.
3 (c) All aspects of the promotion process must be equally
4 accessible to all eligible employees of the department. The
5 results of every component of the testing and evaluation
6 procedures must be disclosed to each candidate as soon as
7 possible after the component is completed.
8 (d) The appointing authority must provide a separate
9 promotional examination for each rank or position that is
10 filled by promotion. The appointing authority may employ
11 consultants to design and administer promotional examinations
12 or may adopt any nationally recognized examinations or study
13 materials that may become available, so long as they comply
14 with the requirements of this Act.
15 Section 25. Promotion lists.
16 (a) For the purpose of granting a promotion to any rank
17 or position to which this Act applies, the appointing
18 authority must from time to time, as necessary, prepare a
19 preliminary promotion list in accordance with this Act. The
20 preliminary promotion list must be distributed, posted, or
21 otherwise made conveniently available by the appointing
22 authority to all members of the department.
23 (b) A person's position on the preliminary promotion
24 list must be determined by a combination of factors that
25 include: (i) the person's score on the written examination
26 for that rank or position, determined in accordance with
27 Section 40; (ii) the person's seniority with the department,
28 determined in accordance with Section 45; (iii) the person's
29 ascertained merit, determined in accordance with Section 50;
30 and (iv) the person's score on the subjective evaluation,
31 determined in accordance with Section 55. Candidates shall
32 be ranked on the list in an order based on the highest to the
33 lowest total points scored on all of the components of the
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1 test. Promotional components must be determined and
2 administered in accordance with Section 35, unless otherwise
3 modified or agreed to as provided by paragraphs (1) and (2)
4 of subsection (e) of Section 15. The use of physical
5 criteria, including, but not limited to, fitness testing,
6 agility testing, or medical evaluations are specifically
7 barred from being used in the promotional process.
8 (c) A person on the preliminary promotion list who is
9 eligible for a veteran's preference under the laws and
10 agreements applicable to the department may file a written
11 application for that preference within 10 days after the
12 initial posting of the preliminary promotion list. The
13 preference must be calculated as provided under Section 60
14 and added to the total score achieved by the candidate on the
15 test. The appointing authority must then make adjustments to
16 the rank order of the preliminary promotion list based on any
17 veteran's preferences awarded. The final adjusted promotion
18 list shall then be distributed, posted, or otherwise made
19 conveniently available by the appointing authority to all
20 members of the department.
21 (d) Whenever a promotional position is created or
22 becomes vacant due to resignation, discharge, promotion,
23 death, or the granting of a disability or retirement pension,
24 the department must appoint to that position the person with
25 the highest ranking on the final promotion list for that
26 rank; except that the appointing authority may pass over the
27 person with the highest ranking if it has an objectively
28 demonstrable basis for determinating that the person is
29 unable to perform the duties of the position. Any disputes
30 as to the existence of that reason shall be subject to
31 resolution in accordance with any grievance procedure in
32 effect covering the employee.
33 A vacancy occurs in a position on the date upon which the
34 position is vacated and, on that same date, a vacancy occurs
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1 in all ranks inferior to that rank; provided that the
2 position or positions continue to be funded and authorized by
3 the corporate authorities of the municipality or fire
4 protection district. If a vacancy is not filled due to a
5 lack of funding and is subsequently reinstated, the final
6 promotion list continues in effect for a 5-year period
7 beginning on the date the position is vacated.
8 (e) Any candidate may refuse a promotion once without
9 losing his or her position on the final adjusted promotion
10 list. Any candidate who refuses promotion a second time must
11 be removed from the final adjusted promotion list, provided
12 that the action may not prejudice a person's opportunities to
13 participate in future promotional examinations.
14 (f) A final adjusted promotion list remains valid for a
15 period of 3 years from the date of the initial posting.
16 Integrated lists are prohibited. When a list expires it is
17 void, except as provided in subsection (d) of this Section.
18 If a promotion list is not in effect, a successor list must
19 be prepared and distributed within 180 days after a vacancy,
20 as defined in subsection (d), occurs.
21 Section 30. Monitoring.
22 (a) All aspects of the promotion process, including
23 without limitation the administration, scoring, and posting
24 of scores for the written examination and subjective
25 evaluation and the determination and posting of seniority and
26 ascertained merit scores, are subject to monitoring and
27 review in accordance with this Section.
28 (b) Two impartial persons who are not candidates in the
29 promotion process must be selected to act as observers by the
30 exclusive bargaining agent or, if there is no exclusive
31 bargaining agent, then by a majority of the candidates
32 participating in the promotion process.
33 (c) The observers monitoring the promotion process must
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1 be present at and observe when any component of the test is
2 administered or scored. Observers may not interfere with the
3 promotion process, but must promptly report any observed or
4 suspected violation of the requirements of this Act or an
5 applicable collective bargaining agreement to the appointing
6 authority and all other affected parties.
7 Section 35. Promotional examination components.
8 Promotion examinations that include components consisting of
9 written examinations, seniority points, ascertained merit, or
10 subjective evaluations must be administered as provided in
11 Sections 40, 45, 50, and 55. The weight, if any, that is
12 given to any component included in a test may be set at the
13 discretion of the appointing authority; provided that the
14 weight is subject to modification by the terms of any
15 collective bargaining agreement in effect on the effective
16 date of this Act or by negotiations between the employer and
17 an exclusive bargaining representative.
18 Section 40. Written examinations.
19 (a) The appointing authority may not condition
20 eligibility to take a written examination on the candidate's
21 score on any of the previous components of the examination.
22 The written examination for a particular rank must consist of
23 matters relating to the duties regularly performed by persons
24 holding that rank within the department. The examination
25 must be based only on the contents of written materials that
26 the appointing authority has identified and made readily
27 available to potential examinees at least 90 days before the
28 examination is administered. The test questions and
29 materials must be pertinent to the particular rank for which
30 the examination is being given. The written examination must
31 be administered after the determination and posting of the
32 seniority list, ascertained merit points, and subjective
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1 evaluation scores. The written examination must be
2 administered, the test materials opened, and the results
3 scored and tabulated only in the presence of the observers
4 appointed under Section 30.
5 (b) Written examinations must be graded at the
6 examination site on the date of the examination and
7 immediately upon completion of the test in front of the
8 observers or, if the tests are graded off-site by a bona fide
9 testing agency, the observers must witness the sealing and
10 the shipping of the tests for grading and the subsequent
11 opening of the scores upon the return from the testing
12 agency. Every examinee has the right to (i) obtain his or
13 her score on the examination on the date of the examination
14 or upon the day of its return from the testing agency and
15 (ii) review the answers to the examination that the examiners
16 consider correct. The appointing authority may hold a review
17 session after the examination for the purpose of gathering
18 feedback on the examination from the candidates.
19 (c) Sample written examinations may be examined by the
20 appointing authority and members of the department, but no
21 person in the department or the appointing authority
22 (including the Chief, Civil Service Commissioners, Board of
23 Fire and Police Commissioners, Board of Fire Commissioners,
24 Fire Protection District Board of Trustees, or other
25 appointed or elected officials) may see or examine the
26 specific questions on the actual written examination before
27 the examination is administered. It is a violation of this
28 Act for any member of the department or for the appointing
29 authority to obtain or divulge the contents of the written
30 examination before it is administered.
31 (d) Each department must maintain reading and study
32 materials for its current written examinations and the
33 reading list for the last 2 written examinations for each
34 rank and must make these materials available and accessible
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1 at each duty station.
2 Section 45. Seniority points.
3 (a) Seniority points must be based only upon service
4 with the affected department and must be calculated as of the
5 date of the written examination. A candidate shall be
6 entitled to 1/12th of one point for each completed month of
7 service with the affected department.
8 (b) A seniority list must be posted before the written
9 examination is given and before the preliminary promotion
10 list is compiled. The seniority list must include the
11 seniority date, any breaks in service, the total number of
12 eligible years, and the number of seniority points.
13 Section 50. Ascertained merit. The promotional test may
14 include points for ascertained merit. Ascertained merit
15 points may be awarded for education, training, and
16 certification in subjects and skills related to fire
17 fighting. The basis for granting ascertained merit points,
18 after the effective date of this Act, must be published at
19 least 2 years before the date ascertained merits points are
20 awarded. All persons eligible to compete for promotion must
21 be given an equal opportunity to obtain ascertained merit
22 points.
23 Section 55. Subjective evaluation.
24 (a) A promotional test may include a subjective
25 evaluation component. Subjective evaluations may include an
26 oral interview, tactical evaluation, character or performance
27 evaluation, or other component based on the subjective
28 evaluation of the examinee, and may employ assessment
29 centers, evaluation systems, a force matrix process, chief's
30 points, or other methods.
31 (b) Any subjective component must be identified to all
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1 candidates before its application, be job-related, and be
2 applied uniformly to all candidates. Every examinee has the
3 right to documentation of (i) his or her score on the
4 subjective component upon the completion of the subjective
5 examination component or its application and (ii) an
6 explanation of the basis or reasons for the differences in
7 the scores awarded.
8 (c) When performance evaluations are used as a basis for
9 promotions, they shall be given annually and made readily
10 available to each candidate for review and they must include
11 any disagreement or documentation the employee provides to
12 refute or contest the evaluation.
13 Section 60. Veteran's preference. A person on a
14 preliminary promotion list who is eligible for veteran's
15 preference under Section 10-1-16 or 10-2.1-11 of the Illinois
16 Municipal Code, Section 16.08a of the Fire Protection
17 District Act, or any other law or agreement applicable to an
18 affected department may file a written application for that
19 preference within 10 days after the initial posting of the
20 preliminary promotion list. The veteran's preference must be
21 calculated as provided in the applicable law and added to the
22 applicant's total score on the preliminary promotion list.
23 Any person who has received a promotion from a promotion list
24 on which his or her position was adjusted for veteran's
25 preference, under this Act or any other law, is not eligible
26 for any subsequent veteran's preference under this Act.
27 Section 65. Right to review. Any affected person who
28 believes that an error has been made with respect to his or
29 her eligibility to take an examination, examination result,
30 placement or position on a promotion list, or veteran's
31 preference is entitled to a review of the matter by the
32 appointing authority or as otherwise provided by law. This
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1 Section is not exclusive and does not limit any right to seek
2 review or redress under any other law or agreement.
3 Section 70. Violations.
4 (a) A person who knowingly divulges or receives test
5 questions or answers before a written examination, or
6 otherwise knowingly violates or subverts any requirement of
7 this Act, commits official misconduct and is subject to the
8 penalties prescribed by Section 33-3 of the Criminal Code of
9 1961.
10 (b) A person who knowingly receives test information in
11 advance of the examination must be disqualified from the
12 promotion examination or demoted from the rank to which he or
13 she was promoted, as applicable, and otherwise subjected to
14 disciplinary actions.
15 (c) A person convicted of an offense under subsection
16 (a) of this Section is civilly liable to any person harmed by
17 the actions constituting the offense for lost wages and any
18 other appropriate damages, plus reasonable attorney fees and
19 costs.
20 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
21 becoming law.