157.02 EXAMINATIONS; PREFERENCES; SENIORITY.
   (a)   All applicants for positions and places in the classified service shall be subject to examination, except as otherwise provided in Ohio R.C. 124.01 to 124.64, when a position in the classified service is to be filled, an examination shall be administered. The Civil Service Commission shall have control of all examinations administered. The Commission shall, by rule adopted under Ohio R.C. Chapter 119, prescribe the notification method that is to be used by the appointing authority to notify the Commission that a position in the classified service is to be filled. In addition to the positions described in Ohio R.C. 124.30, the Commission may, with sufficient justification from the appointing authority, allow the appointing authority to fill the position by non-competitive examination. The Commission shall establish, by rule adopted under Ohio R.C. Chapter 119, standards that shall use to determine what serves as sufficient justification from an appointing authority to fill a position by noncompetitive examination.
   (b)   All examinations shall be public and be open to all citizens of the United States and those persons who have legally declared their intentions of becoming United States citizens, within certain limitation to be determined by the Commission, as to citizenship, residence, age, experience, education, health, habit and moral character.
      (1)   For the exception of seasonal employees and police officers, all City employees must be 18 years of age at time of appointment. Police officers must be 21 years of age at time of appointment. There is no maximum age limit for City employees.
   (c)   (1)   Any person who has been honorably discharged from the uniformed services or transferred to the reserve with evidence of satisfactory service, and any member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States, including the Ohio National Guard, who has completed more than one hundred (180) days of active duty service pursuant to an executive order of the President of the United States or an Act of Congress of the United States may file with the Civil Service Commission a certificate of service of honorable discharge, and, upon this filing, the person shall receive additional credit of five percent (5%) of the person's total grade given in the examination in which the person receives a passing grade. A person who receives an additional credit under division (c)(1) of this section shall not receive an additional credit under division (c)(2) of this section.
      (2)   A member in good standing of a reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States, including the Ohio National Guard, who successfully completes the member's initial entry-level training, shall receive a credit of two percent (2%) of the person's total grade given in the examination in which the person receives a passing grade.
      (3)   As used in this division "service in the uniformed services" and "uniformed services" have the same meanings as in the "Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994," 108 Stat. 3149 U.S.C.A. 4303.
   (d)   An examination may include an evaluation of such factors as education, training, capacity, knowledge, manual dexterity, and physical or psychological fitness. An examination shall consist of one or more tests in any combination. Tests may be written, oral, physical, demonstration of skills or an evaluation of training and experiences and shall be designed to fairly test the relative capacity of the persons examined to discharge the particular duties of the position for which appointment is sought. Tests may include structured interviews, assessment centers, work simulations, examination of knowledge, skills, and abilities, and any other acceptable testing methods. If minimum or maximum requirements are established for any examination, they shall be specified in the examination announcement.
   (e)   No questions in any examination shall relate to political or religious opinions or affiliations. No credit for seniority, efficiency, or any other reason shall be added to an applicant's examination grade unless the applicant achieves at least the minimum passing grade on the examination without counting that extra credit.
   (f)   The Civil Service Commission shall have control of all examinations, except as otherwise provided in Ohio R.C. 124.01 to 124.64 and shall give reasonable notice of the time, place, and general scope of every competitive examination for appointment for positions in the classified service. The Civil Service Commission shall post notices via electronic media of every examination to be conducted for positions in the classified civil service and such notices shall be posted in a conspicuous place in City Hall and on the City's internet site for a minimum of two weeks preceding any examination involved.
(Ord. 86-16. Passed 9-26-16; Ord. 20-19. Passed 2-11-19.)