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Overview of the Merit Employment System
OVERVIEW OF THE MERIT EMPLOYMENT SYSTEM^Top
As authorized under KRS 18A, the Commonwealth of Kentucky uses an open, competitive register system to fill its vacant merit positions. A register is just a list of applicants who have met all eligibility criteria for a particular job within a particular county and who can, therefore, be considered for employment by the agency with which the vacancy exists. Merit positions make up approximately 80 percent of all state jobs. Applicants must meet the minimum job requirements.
- Merit positions that are currently vacant are listed on the Personnel Cabinet's online application system, Career Opportunities System (COS). Our system can be accessed from the world wide web at https://sjobs.brassring.com/1033/ASP/TG/cim_home.asp?partnerid=20101&siteid=5031.
- All competitive applicants must complete an application on COS and apply for the vacancies in which they are interested in being considered. Applicants should be aware that in COS, they apply for each vacancy within one of the agencies of state government through separate application actions. This differs from the previous paper-based application system in that applicants no longer have their credentials sent to every open position whether they have an interest in working for a particular agency or not. Qualified applicants are considered only for those jobs to which the applicant has applied.
- Applicants who do not have access to the Internet may use computer kiosks located in the Frankfort office which are set up and ready for applicant use or they may submit their applications by mail. Please note that mail-in applications take more time to process than applications submitted through COS as the online application system has been optimized to minimize the time required to process an application and to maximize the applicant’s convenience throughout the application process. Therefore, applicants wishing to apply to open positions through a paper application should allow plenty of time for factors beyond the Cabinet’s control such as the time the US Postal Service will take to deliver your application to the Cabinet back to you.
- For Immediate Fill job titles, applicants are placed on registers for only those counties listed on their application.
- When an agency requests to fill a vacancy, all competitive applicants are referred to that agency along with all Internal Mobility candidates (state employee applicants with merit status.) However, if re-employment candidates (former state employees) are blocking registers, then the name of the re-employment applicants, along with the names of all Internal Mobility candidates, are sent to the agency.
- Agencies select candidates from the register to interview, conduct necessary interviews, and recommend appointment of a candidate to fill the vacancy.
- Individuals who are not currently U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents or who do not have a current visa such as a J1, F1 or other visa that allows them to work for a period of time until the hiring agency can petition and apply for an H-1B, H-2A or other work-related visa, or a Social Security number will not be able to be hired by an agency at that time.
CURRENT MERIT VACANCIES^Top
- The Personnel Cabinet provides a listing of current competitive vacancies and promotional vacancies which agencies have requested to fill at the COS Website.
- Necessary information to apply for current competitive and/or Internal Mobility (promotional) vacancies is also listed on the web site at http://personnel.ky.gov.
- The web site also contains other information such as salary schedules, commonly asked questions about the Kentucky State Government merit system, the Deferred Compensation Authority, and state holidays, etc.
- Merit vacancies are normally listed for ten (10) days on COS. Competitive and Internal Mobility applicants must submit their application for a job that they are interested in on or prior to the closing date listed on COS in order to be included on a register issued to an agency to fill a vacancy. Registers are usually filled and issued to agencies at the end of the 10-day period, unless extended.
USING COS KIOSKS AT FRANKFORT CENTER^Top
Applicants who come to the Personnel Cabinet’s Frankfort office to use a kiosk to apply for employment with the state should sign in with the receptionist at the front desk. Applicants who need assistance with COS can ask the receptionist and help will be provided on how to use COS. Applicants accessing COS from home who need help can click on the Live Help link on any of the COS web pages and a help-agent will be available to assist the applicant through a built-in chat feature embedded in the COS web pages. The chat feature will function much like the instant-messaging programs such as Yahoo! Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, as well as many others. Live help is available from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Eastern time.
APPLICATION REVIEW^Top
After you submit your application to a vacant position from COS, your application will be reviewed by a Personnel Analyst to determine if you meet the minimum requirements for the jobs in which you are interested. You must meet the minimum requirements of each position for which you are applying in order to be approved to be placed on the register for a qualifying position. Under Kentucky Administrative Regulations KAR 2:046, individuals who do not meet the minimum requirements as to education at the time of application, but will meet these requirements as a result of the completion of currently scheduled educational work within three (3) months following the submission date of the application, shall have their name entered on the register up to thirty (30) days prior to completing the educational requirements. Candidates so placed on a register must verify they have completed their educational requirements within thirty (30) days after placement on any register. This includes an original copy of their transcript showing the completion of all coursework and a certified letter from the registrar indicating they have completed all coursework but have not yet received their diploma or educational certificate.
FILLING REGISTER REQUESTS^Top
To fill a vacant position in the classified service (not otherwise filled by lateral transfer, reinstatement, reversion or demotion), the appointing agency will submit a request for register certification. If approved, the Personnel Cabinet will certify to the agency the names of eligible competitive applicants, the Internal Mobility candidates (current state employees) and/or the re-employment candidates (former state employees who were laid off from merit jobs). In accordance with KRS 18A.135, competitive applicants are not certified on registers that contain the names of former state employees who have applied for re-employment.
INTERNAL MOBILITY REGISTER (STATE MERIT EMPLOYEES ONLY)^Top
Full-time or part-time vacancies in the classified service filled by promotions come from Internal Mobility (IM) registers. Employees interested in having their names on Internal Mobility registers must have completed their initial probationary period, apply for a posted vacancy in COS, and meet the minimum requirements as specified in the class specification for that job title. As registers are requested by hiring agencies, the names of all employees on the appropriate Internal Mobility registers will be certified to the requesting agencies. There is no ranking of Internal Mobility candidates. Approval by an Analyst to be placed on a register is not an indication of approval for reclassification of a position. Personnel executives and personnel administrators are willing to inform Internal Mobility candidates selected for an interview of the salary grade and hiring range if contacted by phone prior to an interview, or to refer them to department or division level personnel to obtain this information. PLEASE NOTE: the maximum salary that a department or division can offer is often based on budgetary considerations and approvals from a higher level of management. Thus, in some cases this information will not be readily available.
All promotions in Kentucky State Government will be from an Internal Mobility register. Part-time employees with merit status can only be on the part-time Internal Mobility registers.
If you are an employee with merit status and want to have your name on the Internal Mobility register, you must:
- find a posted vacancy announcement
- submit an application through COS
- meet the minimum requirements for the position for which you are applying.
EDUCATION VERIFICATION^Top
Applicants are responsible for providing verification of the education and/or licensure required for the positions for which they are applying. Verification is required within 90 days after employment or the individual will be de-certified from the payroll. Copies of documents are not considered official and will not be accepted. Types of acceptable documentation to verify education are: an original college transcript, original high school diploma, an original GED certificate, original GED scores, original vocational school transcript, or original letters from the registrar or school board. Originals will be returned if requested. Agencies may verify education by completing the Certification of Education/Training form.
Under KRS 18A.032 and 18A.990, it is illegal to falsify education and experience on an application. Those who falsify an application are subject to dismissal from employment and other sanctions including ineligibility for employment, jail time and fines. KRS 18A.110(7)(c) authorizes the Secretary of the Personnel Cabinet to investigate an individual's education, experience, capacity, knowledge, skills, character, personal traits, or physical fitness to determine an applicant's fitness for employment. Educational credentials will be verified to determine if they are from an accredited institution, and/or meet current equivalent requirements. In some cases, candidates may be asked to verify their credentials by submitting them to an accredited institution in the Commonwealth of Kentucky to determine if they would meet entry or degree-seeking requirements or if they would be equivalent to courses offered by that accredited institution.
CLASS SPECIFICATION REQUIREMENT SUBSTITUTION^Top
Most job titles with the Commonwealth of Kentucky require some combination of education and work experience. You can find the exact requirements for the job title you are interested in by looking at that job title’s class specification. Every specification is unique, so you must consult the specification for the title you are interested in to know exactly what the minimum requirements for that job are.
Oftentimes, the specification will allow you to substitute work experience for all or part of the education requirement if you have not acquired all of the requisite education or to substitute education for all or part of the work experience requirement if you do not have all of the prescribed work experience. Of the specifications which permit substitutions, almost all require a specific kind of work experience to substitute for all or part of the the educational requirement or require that your semester hours or degree be in a particular major area in order to substitute for all or part of the work experience requirement. Again, consult the class specification for the job title you are interested in for the specific substitutions that are allowed.
The Commonwealth of Kentucky defines equivalencies between semester hours and months of full-time work experience according to the following tables. There are different equivalencies for undergraduate and graduate semester hours.
|
Undergraduate Table |
|
Graduate Table |
| Semester Hours |
Months of Experience |
|
Semester Hours |
Months of Experience |
| 2, 3, 4 |
1 |
|
1, 2 |
1 |
| 5, 6 |
2 |
|
3, 4 |
2 |
| 7, 8 |
3 |
|
5 |
3 |
| 9, 10, 11 |
4 |
|
6, 7 |
4 |
| 12, 13 |
5 |
|
8, 9 |
5 |
| 14, 15 |
6 |
|
10 |
6 |
| 16, 17, 18 |
7 |
|
11, 12 |
7 |
| 19, 20 |
8 |
|
13, 14 |
8 |
| 21, 22 |
9 |
|
15 |
9 |
| 23, 24, 25 |
10 |
|
16, 17 |
10 |
| 26, 27 |
11 |
|
18, 19 |
11 |
| 28 |
12 |
|
20 |
12 |
| 29, 30 |
13 |
|
21, 22 |
13 |
| 31, 32 |
14 |
|
23, 24 |
14 |
| 33, 34, 35 |
15 |
|
25 |
15 |
| 36, 37 |
16 |
|
26, 27 |
16 |
| 38, 39 |
17 |
|
28, 29 |
17 |
| 40, 41 |
18 |
|
30 |
18 |
| 42, 43 |
19 |
|
31, 32 |
19 |
| 44, 45 |
20 |
|
33, 34 |
20 |
| 46, 47, 48 |
21 |
|
35 |
21 |
| 49, 50 |
22 |
|
36, 37 |
22 |
| 51, 52, 53 |
23 |
|
38, 39 |
23 |
| 54 |
24 |
|
40 |
24 |
| 55, 56, 57 |
25 |
|
41, 42 |
25 |
| 58, 59, 60 |
26 |
|
43, 44 |
26 |
| 61, 62, 63 |
27 |
|
45 |
27 |
| 64, 65, 66 |
28 |
|
46, 47 |
28 |
| 67, 68, 69 |
29 |
|
48, 49 |
29 |
| 70, 71, 72 |
30 |
|
50 |
30 |
| 73, 74, 75 |
31 |
|
51, 52 |
31 |
| 76, 77, 78 |
32 |
|
53, 54 |
32 |
| 79, 80, 81 |
33 |
|
55 |
33 |
| 82, 83, 84 |
34 |
|
56, 57 |
34 |
| 85, 86, 87, 88, 89 |
35 |
|
58, 59 |
35 |
| 90, 91 |
36 |
|
60 |
36 |
| 92, 93, 94 |
37 |
|
|
|
| 95, 96, 97 |
38 |
|
|
|
| 98, 99, 100, 101 |
39 |
|
|
|
| 102, 103, 104 |
40 |
|
|
|
| 105, 106, 107 |
41 |
|
|
|
| 108, 109, 110 |
42 |
|
|
|
| 111, 112, 113 |
43 |
|
|
|
| 114, 115, 116 |
44 |
|
|
|
| 117, 118, 119, 120 |
45 |
|
|
|
| 121, 122, 123 |
46 |
|
|
|
| 124, 125, 126 |
47 |
|
|
|
| Bachelor's degree |
48 |
|
|
|
If you went to a school that uses quarter hours instead of semester hours, you can convert quarter hours to semester hours by multiplying the number of quarter hours by 2/3. If you earned credit at a vocational school that uses clock hours, divide the clock hours by 120 to arrive at the equivalent number of months of work experience for which this training can be substituted. EDUCATION MUST BE FROM AN ACCREDITED U.S. ACADEMIC INSTITUTION TO BE CONSIDERED.
State employees will receive credit for supervisory, professional administrative or management experience for selected positions as indicated below if required as part of the minimum qualifications for a particular job for which they are applying. One year of supervisory credit experience for the successful completion of the Certificate of Management Fundamentals Course and two years of professional administrative or management experience for the successful completion of the Certified Public Manager Program offered by the Governmental Services Center. CPM certification will NOT substitute for the minimum professional or technical education or experience required in such classes as attorneys, engineers, nurses, architects, environmental or forensic scientists, etc.
APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED AFTER THE INITIAL APPLICATION^Top
If any changes are made to an applicant’s work history for a time-period which is covered by a previously submitted application, the applicant will have to provide verification of any changes made to the work history portion of his/her application. This is also true if there is overlap or conflicting information on the application. This procedure is to protect all parties and to allow Personnel Cabinet staff to give applicants full credit for valid work experience.
COUNTIES IN WHICH YOU DESIRE TO WORK
^Top
On the portion of the application requiring you to list counties in which you are willing to work, it is very important that you specifically list by name ONLY those counties where you would go for an interview and accept employment. The counties you choose are only relevant for Immediate Fill titles
.
JOB REQUIREMENTS AND INTERIM POSITIONS^Top
COS is an application system for permanent, merit system positions, as well as Federally-funded time limited and grant funded positions. However other positions such as interim may be posted on COS by agencies, but unlike merit positions, they are not required to be posted in COS. Each position has unique minimum requirements. These requirements may include minimum educational credentials, various types of licenses, having reached a minimum age, never having been convicted of a felony, and so on. All applicants must be at least 18 years of age or have a high school diploma/GED. Some positions also require a valid drivers license and/or a CDL (Commercial Drivers License) when hired or after 6 months of employment. Applicants for certain positions, such as sworn police officers, must be at least 21 years of age, not have a felony record, etc. You should apply directly with the office or agency where you want to work if you are looking for an interim, summer, or non-merit position.
CONTACT INFORMATION^Top
Personnel Cabinet
State Office Building, 1st Floor
501 High Street
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Merit Employment Questions?
(502) 564-8030.
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