C Adopt hiring systems, including fast-track hiring systems. Steps can be taken to increase
the accessibility of application processes for people with disabilities. For example, states can make modifications to civil service exams to accommodate disabilities, institutionalize hiring preferences, and offer paid internship or trial work opportunities to those with disabilities.
Suggested Strategies i Special appointment lists for noncompetitive appointment. Example: The federal government has adopted Schedule A excepted service hiring authority for individuals with disabilities. ii Waiving or modifying civil service exams; offering on-site exam accommodations.
EXAMPLES IN ACTION Special Appointment Lists Delaware and Maryland maintain special appointment lists for noncompetitive appointments. In Delaware, job applicants can take advantage of the Selective Placement Program. Once eligibility is established, individuals work with program staff to identify suitable positions and apply. Maryland’s Special Options Eligible List Fast Track Program provides the opportunity to engage in training programs or internships. After successful completion of the internship or training, the individual is certified for civil service appointment. The individual is then placed on an eligibility list that state appointment managers may draw from when making hiring decisions.
Waive or Modify Civil Service Exam; Offer On-site Accommodations People with disabilities applying for state employment may have the option of taking a modified civil service exam, or the exam may be waived altogether as it is in California, Illinois, New York, Oklahoma and Utah.
iii Hiring preferences. iv Trial work periods, paid internships, assigning credit for work. Example: The federal government has established the Workforce Recruitment Program for college students with disabilities as a potential model. v
Mandatory interview option, i.e., the hiring authority is required to offer a qualified individual with a disability an interview, but this does not guarantee that the individual is offered a job.
vi Formal certification processes under which a state agency, such as the state vocational rehabilitation agency, certifies trained and work-ready candidates for trial work periods, civil service exam exemption or special appointment lists.
In California, an executive order was issued directing state agencies to fill vacancies through the Limited Examination and Appointment Program, or LEAP, designed to facilitate recruitment and hiring of qualified individuals with disabilities. LEAP is an alternative civil service examination process available to any individual with a disability who is certified through the Department of Rehabilitation. Once certified, an individual may take LEAP examinations for state positions during open testing periods. LEAP examinations consists of two stages: an initial competitive readiness examination to evaluate an individual’s qualifications and skills, followed, upon successful completion of the readiness examination, by a trial on-the-job examination called the Job Evaluation Period, or JEP. Successful completion of the JEP replaces the written portion of the standard civil service examination and awards the applicant with the civil service certification appointment. In 2015, California passed Senate Bill 644, altering LEAP by providing individuals with developmental disabilities with the option to obtain civil service certification by successfully completing a 512-hour internship with a state agency in lieu of a written test or LEAP readiness examination.
26 The Council of State Governments • National Conference of State Legislatures