RULE 6. EXAMINATION

Houston Code of Ordinances ch. 14, art. II, div. 6

in effect

Houston Code of Ordinances § 14-79 Requirements for examinations.

Sec. 14-79. - Requirements for examinations. The director shall, whenever vacancies exist within the civil service or even in advance of such vacancies, prepare, view and rate necessary examinations, or direct this work, which examinations shall determine the suitability of applicants for civil service positions. No person shall be appointed to a position in the civil service, except as otherwise provided for by law, until he shall have signed a completed application on the forms prescribed by the commission, qualified by passing the required examination, and been certified for appointment in accordance with these rules. (Ord. No. 2015-1300, § 2(Exh. A), 12-16-2015)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 14-80 Notice required; exceptions.

Sec. 14-80. - Notice required; exceptions. Public notice of competitive group examinations shall be given at least seven calendar days prior to such examinations by posting notices in the office of the commission or upon any public bulletin boards available in the City Hall or elsewhere as the director may decide. Such examinations may be further publicized through the use of any other media most likely to reach qualified applicants for the position in question. This requirement may be waived by the commission in cases of special examinations for positions for which there is substantial difficulty in obtaining qualified applicants. (Ord. No. 2015-1300, § 2(Exh. A), 12-16-2015)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 14-81 Contents of notice.

Sec. 14-81. - Contents of notice. Each official notice of an examination shall state the title, duties and pay of the position for which the examination is to be held, the qualifications required, the time and place for making application, the time and place of examination, and any other information which is deemed to be pertinent and useful. (Ord. No. 2015-1300, § 2(Exh. A), 12-16-2015)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 14-82 Open application period.

Sec. 14-82. - Open application period. Should the commission find that there is a shortage of qualified candidates for positions or classes of positions which urgently need to be filled, it may announce that no time limit has been established for receiving applications, and applications may be filed during such period of time as may be necessary to establish a satisfactory employment list. When a satisfactory employment list has been established, public notice shall then be given that no further applications will be accepted. (Ord. No. 2015-1300, § 2(Exh. A), 12-16-2015)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 14-83 Types of examinations.

Sec. 14-83. - Types of examinations. (a) All examinations shall be open, competitive, and free in character and designed to measure fairly the applicant's suitability to perform the duties of the position which he seeks to fill. (b) An examination may be written or oral and may include physical tests, demonstrations of skill, evaluation of training and experience of applicants as recorded in their applications, or any combination thereof. (Ord. No. 2015-1300, § 2(Exh. A), 12-16-2015)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 14-84 Applications and examination admission.

Sec. 14-84. - Applications and examination admission. (a) All applications shall be made on forms prescribed by the director who may require such information as he deems pertinent, but no questions in the application, or in any other portion of the examination, shall be so framed as to elicit information concerning the political, fraternal or religious opinion or affiliation of the applicant. (b) Any person may apply for any examination unless the public notice of same shall disqualify such person based upon a bona fide occupational qualification. (c) The commission or director may reject the application of any person for admission to an examination, or refuse to examine any applicant, who is found to lack any of the qualifications prescribed in the public notice, or who is physically or mentally unqualified to perform the duties of the class, or who has been dismissed from the public service for delinquency or misconduct, or who has made false statements of any material fact, or has practiced or attempted to practice deception or fraud in his application or in his examination. In every such case, the commission may reject the application and likewise may cancel the eligibility of the applicant if he has already been admitted to an examination and has attained a place on a list of eligibles, and take action for his removal from the service in case he has already received appointment when such finding is made. (d) The director may exclude from any further participation in any examination any applicant who does not make a passing grade on any part of an examination where the examination is in more than one part. Failure in any portion of the examination shall be sufficient grounds for exclusion in any other part of the examination, or, if all portions of the examination have been completed, the director may declare such applicant as failing in the entire examination. (e) When applications are received from qualified applicants who are living in another city and it is not practical for such applicants to present themselves in the city for the examination, the director may make arrangements with any other person in that city who is acceptable to the commission to administer the examination. (Ord. No. 2015-1300, § 2(Exh. A), 12-16-2015)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 14-85 Conduct of examinations.

Sec. 14-85. - Conduct of examinations. (a) The examinations shall be conducted by the director, or by persons designated by him, according to the procedure established by the director. Safeguards shall be devised which, insofar as possible and practicable, shall conceal the identity of candidates from examiners or other persons engaged in scoring, marking, or otherwise rating the candidates. (b) The director shall arrange for suitable persons in the service of the city, with the consent of the supervising authorities under whom such persons work, to assist in examinations. When there is an insufficient number of such persons available, the director may arrange to employ temporarily such other persons as might be needed and shall provide for their pay. (c) It shall be the duty of all city employees having such authority to allow the reasonable use of public buildings and other facilities as conditions might require for holding such examinations and tests. (Ord. No. 2015-1300, § 2(Exh. A), 12-16-2015)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 14-86 Passing grade.

Sec. 14-86. - Passing grade. The commission shall have the power to place the passing grade at any figure or percentage deemed equitable in each test but, unless a definite figure is set, the passing grade shall be 70, based upon a total weight of 100 for the entire examination. (Ord. No. 2015-1300, § 2(Exh. A), 12-16-2015)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 14-87 Eligibility for examinations.

Sec. 14-87. - Eligibility for examinations. (a) Examinations for appointment shall be open to persons who meet the requirements for admission to the examinations as established in the public notices therefor or as specified in these rules. Such requirements may relate only to qualifications, characteristics, skills and abilities related to the actual performance of the duties of the job for which the examination is being held. (b) No additional applicant shall be admitted to the examination room after any candidate has permanently absented himself from the place of examination. (Ord. No. 2015-1300, § 2(Exh. A), 12-16-2015)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 14-88 Reexaminations; correcting; amending, etc., records.

Sec. 14-88. - Reexaminations; correcting; amending, etc., records. The commission shall have the power, whenever in its judgment the interests of the public service require it, to order a reexamination of applicants for any position, and shall have the power to correct, amend, or revoke any schedule, list or other papers or records when it appears that an error or injustice has been done; and when any person whose name appears on the list of eligibles has, for any reason, become incapacitated for appointment in the public service, the commission may strike such name from said list of eligibles. The reason for such action shall be recorded in full in the minutes of the commission. (Ord. No. 2015-1300, § 2(Exh. A), 12-16-2015)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 14-89 Original papers.

Sec. 14-89. - Original papers. All original papers, applications, examination papers and questions, certificates, and all other papers pertaining to the application and examination are the property of the human resources department and must be filed with the human resources department and shall be kept for a minimum of three years or longer if circumstances require. (Ord. No. 2015-1300, § 2(Exh. A), 12-16-2015)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 14-90 Notice of results.

Sec. 14-90. - Notice of results. Each person competing in an examination shall be given a written notice of the examination results. Those who fail to attain a place on the list of eligibles shall be notified of that fact. (Ord. No. 2015-1300, § 2(Exh. A), 12-16-2015)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 14-91 Review of results.

Sec. 14-91. - Review of results. Each person competing in an examination may, within five business days after the notice of the results, and only after such person has requested in writing to the director, be permitted to inspect his rating and examination papers at the appropriate human resources department location, during business hours, and may secure any necessary explanations of the methods by which the ratings were determined. However, no examinee will be permitted to review the questions used in a written examination but may be allowed to review his answer sheet only. (Ord. No. 2015-1300, § 2(Exh. A), 12-16-2015)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 14-92 Appeals.

Sec. 14-92. - Appeals. An examinee may file his appeal with the director for correction of his rating at any time during the five days immediately following notice of the examination results; such appeals must be made in writing and must set forth the grounds for such appeal. The commission shall review such appeal within a reasonable time and shall notify the examinee of its decision, and the decision of the commission shall be final. (Ord. No. 2015-1300, § 2(Exh. A), 12-16-2015)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 14-93 Correction of results.

Sec. 14-93. - Correction of results. If, after examination of the appeal filed by a candidate, the director finds that any manifest error existed in the rating, scoring, or computing of the results, he shall, upon approval by the commission, make the required correction and place the name of that person in its true position on the list as the correction warrants. Such correction, however, shall not invalidate any appointment previously made from such list. (Ord. No. 2015-1300, § 2(Exh. A), 12-16-2015)

Source: City of Houston, Code of Ordinances and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/tx/houston/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_CH14CISE_ARTIIRU_DIV6RU6.EXFetched: 10/26/2026