GENERAL INFORMATION BULLETIN No. 15-01
TO: Department and Agency Directors of Human Resource, Personnel and Affirmative Action Officers
FROM: Scott DeFruscio, Director of Staffing Services
SUBJECT:Public Administration Traineeship Transition Program (PATT) Eligible List
DATE: January 16, 2015
This GIB is to describe the important changes to the appointments that can be made from the PATT eligible list (#00-271) and to provide you additional important information about the examination.
Minimum Qualifications
The PATT examination announcement allowed employees in specified second level titles to qualify for the examination with three months experience and employees in specified entry level titles to qualify for the examination with three months experience and a bachelor’s degree or higher by September 1, 2014. However, all eligibles must have at least two years of the qualifying experience to be eligible for appointment from the PATT eligible list. Because of the complexity of these minimum qualifications, we advise agencies to be very careful as you review the qualifications of eligibles on your eligible list and as you decide whether and when an eligible qualifies for appointment. Also, before you appoint an eligible who qualified for the PATT exam because of their bachelor’s degree, you must forward to your Staffing Services Representative proof that the eligible received their bachelor’s degree or higher by September 1, 2014.
Effect of Appointment From the PATT List
Appointees from list #00-271 will be inactivated on that list depending on the salary grade of the journey level of the traineeship, following rules for the past PATT examinations. For example, if an eligible is appointed to a traineeship leading to G-16, the eligible will be inactivated on the eligible list for all traineeships leading to a title at G-16 and below, but will remain active for all traineeships leading to a title above G-16.
Advanced Placement from PATT Lists
All advanced placement decisions are at the agency’s discretion.
When using the PATT list, the standard rules of reachability still apply; however, the level at which the traineeship is filled can be determined by the qualifications of the reachable candidate you select. For example, if experience is required for advanced placement and the top three acceptors have no experience, you must fill the vacancy at the Trainee 1 level by selecting one of those acceptors. You cannot skip three Trainee 1 level acceptors to reach a candidate who meets the qualifications for advanced placement at the Trainee 2 or journey level.
Advanced placement appointments are made directly from the eligible list to the Trainee 2 or to the journey level title. Once a trainee appointment has been made, the agency cannot give the employee an advanced placement appointment in that series; the appointee must progress through the traineeship. For example, if an appointee has nine months of the twelve months of experience needed for advanced placement, the appointee cannot be advanced after three months. Also, if an agency appoints someone as a Trainee 1 and later finds they could have advanced placed the appointee as a Trainee 2, an advanced placement appointment to the Trainee 2 will not be allowed.
In addition to the requirements for the PATT examination, advanced placement appointees must meet the minimum qualifications required for the PCO exam – they must have a bachelor’s degree or higher by September 1, 2014, and they must have the required professional experience. The advanced placement minimum qualifications for all PCO titles are viewable in the Examinations section of the DCS Business Suite. Experience must be professional experience. Out–of-title work in a state title cannot be accepted and experience in a clerical, secretarial or administrative title cannot be considered as professional. For example, work as a Head Clerk (Personnel), Payroll Examiner, or Payroll Specialist is not professional experience and cannot be used for advanced placement.
Advanced placement will be allowed from list #00-271 to all levels of the PCO Generalist Job Titles. In most cases, a bachelor’s degree and one year of professional experience performing the duties of the journey level title is required for advanced placement to Trainee 2 in a two year traineeship; a bachelor’s degree and one year of professional experience performing the duties of the journey level title is required for advanced placement to the journey level in a one year traineeship; and a bachelor’s degree and two years of professional experience performing the duties of the journey level title is required for advanced placement to the journey level in a two year traineeship. In cases where there is a PCO Select Job Title list that requires two years of specialized experience for the journey level title and the title is also filled by the PATT at the trainee level, the advanced placement minimum qualifications for appointment to the Trainee 2 level are a bachelor’s degree and one year of the experience required for the journey level exam and for appointment to the journey level are a bachelor’s degree and two years of the required experience. Advanced placement may also be allowed per agreed upon minimum qualifications.
Advanced placement appointments from the PATT list need the prior approval of the agency’s Staffing Services Representative. Possession of the required education and experience is to be determined by the appointing authority at time of interview. Prior to appointment, the agency must submit to their Staffing Services Representative Form ATT-00271 (available in the Examinations section of the DCS Business Suite), a NYS-APP and other supporting documentation showing the eligible’s qualifications, and an attestation the eligible meets the advanced placement minimum qualifications, has the required experience for appointment from the PATT eligible list, and is reachable on the list.
Transfers and Other PATT Appointments
The standard rules for transfer shall apply for transfer into and between PATT titles, including the requirement of one year of permanent service in the title the employee is transferring from. If requested, the one year of permanent service requirement can be waived by the Director, Division of Staffing Services.
Transfers will be allowed directly to the appointment title from titles within two salary grades; advancement after transfer to a Trainee title requires a year as a trainee. For example, a G-11 employee can only be transferred to a trainee title within two grades of the employee’s current title.
The determination as to how the impact of a transfer between PATT titles during the first year of the traineeship will affect the length of the traineeship is at the agency’s discretion. Time served in the original title may be considered credited time. Transfer between any of the PATT titles during the second year of the traineeship will require the transferee complete a full year in the new Trainee 2 title prior to advancement. Transfer between any of the PATT titles during the first year in the journey level title will require the transferee complete the probationary period required by Rule 4.5 of the Rules for the Classified Service.
Civil Service Law section 70.4 transfers will be allowed based on a current or past PCO or PCT passing score or a current or past PATT passing score (if the transferee has a bachelor’s degree) to PCO Generalist Job Titles and Select Job Titles as long as the transferee did not fail a more recent holding of the PCT, PCO or PATT. For transfers to Select Job Titles, the transferee must meet the minimum qualifications for the Select Job Title; the transferee did not have to have submitted the PCO questionnaire. Prior to 70.4 transfer to a PCO Generalist Job Title or Select Job Title, the agency must submit to their Staffing Services Representative Form ATT-00271 (available in the Examinations section of the DCS Business Suite), a NYS-APP and other supporting documentation showing the eligible’s qualifications, and an attestation the eligible meets the minimum qualifications. Documentation must be kept at the agency.
Early advancements during the traineeship will only be allowed in accordance with SPMM Advisory Memorandum #01-04.
Foreign Degrees and Coursework
Where the applicant needed a bachelor’s degree or higher to qualify and indicated a foreign degree(s), Department of Civil Service (DCS) requested the applicant to provide us with an evaluation of the foreign degree(s) and advised the applicants they would need to provide agencies the evaluation of the foreign degree(s) at the interview. If an applicant did not provide us a foreign degree evaluation from an acceptable company or the evaluation of the foreign degree(s) did not show that the degree(s) was the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree or higher in the United States, you will not see the eligible on your list. However, if an applicant did not indicate in their PATT application that they have a foreign degree, DCS could not follow this process, and, therefore, the eligible’s name could appear on a certification.
If an eligible cannot provide an acceptable evaluation of their foreign degree(s), agencies can TI the eligible for the life of the cert. Be sure to explain this carefully and encourage the eligible to get the needed evaluations. Information about the companies that provide the evaluations is available on many exam announcements.