General Laws of Massachusetts - Chapter 31 Civil Service

• Massachusetts General Laws - Definitions - Chapter 31, Section 1
  In this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings, unless the context requires otherwise:— “Administrator”, the personnel administrator of the human...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Powers and duties of commission - Chapter 31, Section 2
  In addition to its other powers and duties, the commission shall have the following powers and duties: (a) To conduct investigations at its discretion or...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Rules - Chapter 31, Section 3
  The administrator shall make and amend rules which shall regulate the recruitment, selection, training and employment of persons for civil service positions; provided, however, that...
• Massachusetts General Laws - New or amended rules; hearings; publication - Chapter 31, Section 4
  A new rule of the administrator and any amendment to an existing rule shall not be effective until after a public hearing relative to such...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Powers and duties of administrator - Chapter 31, Section 5
  In addition to his other powers and duties, imposed upon him by this chapter, chapter seven and chapter thirty the administrator shall have the following...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Appointments; requisitions - Chapter 31, Section 6
  Each appointment to a civil service position shall be made by an original appointment pursuant to the provisions of this section or by a promotional...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Performance evaluation system; implementation - Chapter 31, Section 6A
  The administrator shall establish a program for the implementation of a performance evaluation system for all civil service employees. In the development of the performance...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Weight of performance evaluation in promotions - Chapter 31, Section 6B
  The weight given to performance evaluation in promotional decisions for civil service positions shall be determined by the administrator in conjunction with representatives of collective...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Employee disagreement with evaluation; appeal - Chapter 31, Section 6C
  A civil service employee, except an employee serving during his probationary period, who receives an evaluation with which he disagrees, shall within ten days unless...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Promotional appointments in official service - Chapter 31, Section 7
  Each promotional appointment within the official service shall be made pursuant to section eight or after certification from an eligible list established as a result...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Promotional appointments in official service within same departmental unit - Chapter 31, Section 8
  An appointing authority, with the approval of the administrator, may promote an employee in the official service from one title to the next higher title...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Departmental promotional examinations - Chapter 31, Section 9
  Pursuant to the provisions of this section, an appointing authority may make a promotional appointment within a departmental unit on the basis of a departmental...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Alternate departmental promotional examinations - Chapter 31, Section 10
  An appointing authority may make a promotional appointment within a departmental unit on the basis of an alternate departmental promotional examination pursuant to this section....
• Massachusetts General Laws - Competitive promotional examinations - Chapter 31, Section 11
  An appointing authority may make a promotional appointment on the basis of a competitive promotional examination, pursuant to the provisions of this section, which shall...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Provisional appointments - Chapter 31, Section 12
  An appointing authority may make a provisional appointment to a position in the official service with the authorization of the administrator or, if the appointing...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Provisional appointments; notice; filing - Chapter 31, Section 13
  An appointing authority, in requesting authorization to make a provisional appointment, shall file with the administrator or, if the appointing authority is a department, board,...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Provisional appointments; authorization; reports; length of service; termination - Chapter 31, Section 14
  Upon receipt of the notice described in section thirteen, the administrator or the secretary in charge of the executive office, as the case may be,...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Provisional promotions - Chapter 31, Section 15
  An appointing authority may, with the approval of the administrator or, if the appointing authority is a department, board, commission, institution or other agency within...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Scope of examinations; marks; appointments based solely on training and experience - Chapter 31, Section 16
  Examinations shall be conducted under the direction of the administrator, who shall determine their form, method and subject matter. Examinations shall fairly test the knowledge,...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Persons with bachelor’s degrees; examination; eligible list; certification - Chapter 31, Section 17
  The administrator, without requisition from an appointing authority, may hold a competitive examination to establish an eligible list of persons with bachelor’s degrees. Such examination...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Notice of examinations for original appointments; posting - Chapter 31, Section 18
  The administrator shall prepare notices of all examinations for original appointment to the official service and shall send such notices to the clerks of those...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Notice of examination for promotional appointments; posting - Chapter 31, Section 19
  The administrator shall prepare a notice of each competitive examination to be held for a promotional appointment in the official service. The administrator shall send...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Applications for examination or registration; fees; requests for information - Chapter 31, Section 20
  Each application for examination or registration pursuant to the civil service law and rules shall be made under the penalties of perjury and shall contain...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Educational and physical requirements; eligibility based on gender - Chapter 31, Section 21
  The administrator may establish educational requirements and alternatives thereto, in addition to the educational requirements established by statute, as prerequisites for appointment to any civil...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Passing requirements of examinations; credits; requests for review - Chapter 31, Section 22
  The administrator shall determine the passing requirements of examinations. In any competitive examination, an applicant shall be given credit for employment or experience in the...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Review of examination papers; errors - Chapter 31, Section 23
  Within six weeks after receipt of a request pursuant to section twenty-two, the administrator shall, subject to the provisions of this section, conduct such review,...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Appeals; petitions - Chapter 31, Section 24
  An applicant may appeal to the commission from a decision of the administrator made pursuant to section twenty-three relative to (a) the marking of the...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Eligible lists; certification; refusal to accept employment - Chapter 31, Section 25
  The administrator shall establish, maintain and revise eligible lists of persons who have passed each examination for appointment to a position in the official service....
• Massachusetts General Laws - Order of persons on eligible lists; veteran’s preference; disabled veterans; fire and police service - Chapter 31, Section 26
  The names of persons who pass examinations for original appointment to any position in the official service shall be placed on eligible lists in the...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Appointment or promotion; manner of selection - Chapter 31, Section 27
  Except as provided otherwise by section fifteen, if the administrator certifies from an eligible list the names of three persons who are qualified for and...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Labor service applicants; eligibility; age limit; veteran’s preference - Chapter 31, Section 28
  Except as provided in the last paragraph of this section, the names of persons who apply for employment in the labor service of the commonwealth...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Appointment of apprentice lineman; age restrictions - Chapter 31, Section 28A
  Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, in any city or town which accepts this section, no person shall be eligible to have...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Labor service appointments; promotional bulletins - Chapter 31, Section 29
  An appointing authority shall, prior to any request to the administrator for approval of a promotional appointment of a permanent employee in the labor service...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Promotional appointments from labor service to official service - Chapter 31, Section 30
  Pursuant to the provisions of this section, an appointing authority, upon submission of a requisition, may make a promotional appointment within a departmental unit of...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Emergency appointments; renewal - Chapter 31, Section 31
  An appointing authority may, without submitting a requisition to the administrator and without complying with other provisions of the civil service law and rules incident...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Emergency appointments to laborer positions; renewal - Chapter 31, Section 32
  An appointing authority may make an emergency appointment to the position of laborer without submitting a requisition to the administrator and without complying with the...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Seniority; computing length of service - Chapter 31, Section 33
  For the purposes of this chapter, seniority of a civil service employee shall mean his ranking based on length of service, computed as provided in...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Probationary periods - Chapter 31, Section 34
  Following his original appointment to a civil service position as a permanent full-time employee, a person shall actually perform the duties of such position on...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Transfers - Chapter 31, Section 35
  Subject to the provisions of section forty-one governing the transfer of persons who have served as tenured employees since prior to October fourteen, nineteen hundred...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Transfers from official service to labor service positions - Chapter 31, Section 36
  A person who has been employed in the official service as a permanent employee for at least one year may be transferred to a position...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Leaves of absence - Chapter 31, Section 37
  An appointing authority may grant a permanent employee a leave of absence or an extension of a leave of absence; provided that any grant for...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Unauthorized leaves of absence; reports; separation from employment; review - Chapter 31, Section 38
  Upon reporting an unauthorized absence to the administrator pursuant to section sixty-eight, an appointing authority shall send by registered mail a statement to the person...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Separation from employment; lack of work or money; abolition of position; disability - Chapter 31, Section 39
  If permanent employees in positions having the same title in a departmental unit are to be separated from such positions because of lack of work...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Conditional employees - Chapter 31, Section 39A
  Any fire service personnel subject to the retraining requirements of section 39 shall be classified as a conditional employee during the retraining period as a...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Reemployment list - Chapter 31, Section 40
  If a permanent employee shall become separated from his position because of lack of work or lack of money or abolition of his position, his...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Discharge; removal; suspension; transfer; abolition of office; reduction of rank or pay; hearings; review - Chapter 31, Section 41
  Except for just cause and except in accordance with the provisions of this paragraph, a tenured employee shall not be discharged, removed, suspended for a...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Discharge, removal or suspension; hearing before disinterested hearing officer; review - Chapter 31, Section 41A
  Upon the request of the appointing authority and a tenured employee, who is entitled to a hearing pursuant to the first paragraph of section forty-one,...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Complaints; hearings; jurisdiction; filing of civil action - Chapter 31, Section 42
  Any person who alleges that an appointing authority has failed to follow the requirements of section forty-one in taking action which has affected his employment...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Hearings before commission - Chapter 31, Section 43
  If a person aggrieved by a decision of an appointing authority made pursuant to section forty-one shall, within ten days after receiving written notice of...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Judicial review - Chapter 31, Section 44
  The commission may institute appropriate proceedings in the superior court for enforcement of its final orders or decisions. Any party aggrieved by a final order...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Reimbursement for defense expenses - Chapter 31, Section 45
  A tenured employee who has incurred expense in defending himself against an unwarranted discharge, removal, suspension, laying off, transfer, lowering in rank or compensation, or...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Reinstatement; hearings - Chapter 31, Section 46
  A permanent employee who becomes separated from his position may, with the approval of the administrator, be reinstated in the same or in another departmental...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Blind persons; examinations; temporary appointment of persons with an intellectual disability - Chapter 31, Section 47
  Upon application by a blind person to take an examination for any position the duties of which he may properly perform, the administrator, upon written...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Disadvantaged persons; certified work-training programs; examination; eligible lists; appointment - Chapter 31, Section 47A
  Notwithstanding the provisions of sections six and twenty-eight, an appointment to a position subject to this chapter may be made to a position in the...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Civil service offices and positions; exemptions - Chapter 31, Section 48
  All offices and positions in the official service of the commonwealth shall be subject to the civil service law and rules unless expressly exempted by...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Career management service program; designation of positions; selection of persons; annual listing; performance appraisal system - Chapter 31, Section 48A
  (1) The administrator shall establish a career management service program for state service. In pursuance of such responsibility as to the career management service, and...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Students in temporary position appropriate to academic interest; appointments to certain state positions subject to or exempt from civil service law; confidential employees - Chapter 31, Section 49
  The administrator shall cooperate with degree-granting institutions of higher education which offer programs designed to enable students enrolled therein to be employed in positions appropriate...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Persons ineligible for civil service - Chapter 31, Section 50
  No person habitually using intoxicating liquors to excess shall be appointed to or employed or retained in any civil service position, nor shall any person...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Cities; civil service offices and positions - Chapter 31, Section 51
  All positions in all cities shall be subject to the civil service law and rules except as provided by section forty-eight or other law and...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Towns; civil service offices and positions - Chapter 31, Section 52
  The following offices and positions in towns shall be subject to the civil service law and rules: (1) Inspectors of plumbing. (2) Sealers and deputy...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Application of chapter to municipalities; school districts; elections - Chapter 31, Section 53
  (a) All non-academic positions in the service of a regional school district or of a regional vocational school district shall be subject to the civil...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Petitions; number of signatures; filing - Chapter 31, Section 54
  If five per cent or five thousand of the registered voters in a city file with the city clerk a petition requesting that the question...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Signatures to petitions; certification; objections - Chapter 31, Section 55
  Each person who signs a petition for the placing of a question on the official ballot at a regular municipal election pursuant to the provisions...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Incumbents; status; seniority; transfer of school employees - Chapter 31, Section 56
  Whenever any office or position exempt from the civil service law and rules is made subject thereto, whether by the provisions of this chapter or...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Permanent positions in city labor service; removal of intermittent junior building custodians; certification of inspector of wires - Chapter 31, Section 57
  Every year-round temporary position in the labor service of a city where such service is subject to the civil service law and rules shall be...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Municipal police officers and firefighters; qualification - Chapter 31, Section 58
  No person shall be ineligible for appointment and no person shall be denied employment as a firefighter or as a police officer in a city...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Municipal police officers and firefighters; maximum age restrictions - Chapter 31, Section 58A
  Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, in any city, town or district that accepts this section, no person shall...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Municipal police officers and fire fighters; examinations; appointments and promotions - Chapter 31, Section 59
  Original and promotional appointments in police and fire forces of cities and of such towns where such forces are within the official service, including appointments...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Intermittent or reserve police or fire forces; appointments to regular force - Chapter 31, Section 60
  In any city or town having an intermittent or reserve police or fire force to which the civil service law and rules are applicable, original...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Intermittent or reserve police or fire force members; effect of refusals to accept employment on permanent basis in regular police or fire force - Chapter 31, Section 60A
  (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 60 to the contrary, this section shall apply to a city or town that has an intermittent or reserve...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Municipal police officers or fire fighters; probationary periods; evaluation - Chapter 31, Section 61
  Following his original appointment as a permanent full-time police officer or fire fighter in a city, or in a town where the civil service law...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Police officer and firefighter health and physical fitness standards - Chapter 31, Section 61A
  The administrator, with the secretary of public safety and the commissioner of public health shall establish initial health and physical fitness standards which shall be...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Wellness program for police officers and firefighters - Chapter 31, Section 61B
  Any city, town, district or other governmental unit which accepts the provisions of this section shall establish a wellness program for police officers and firefighters,...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Punishment duty; police officers or fire fighters - Chapter 31, Section 62
  Punishment duty shall not be imposed without just cause upon any police officer or fire fighter subject to this chapter. A police officer or fire...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Punishment duty; police officers or firefighters employed by cities or towns - Chapter 31, Section 62A
  Notwithstanding the provisions of section sixty-two punishment duty shall not be imposed upon any police officer or firefighter, who is employed by a city or...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Paraplegic persons; municipal police or fire departments; appointments - Chapter 31, Section 63
  An appointing authority may employ a paraplegic in a civil service position within the police or fire department of any city or town, without submitting...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Bay transportation authority police; qualifications - Chapter 31, Section 64
  No person shall be ineligible for appointment and no person shall be denied employment as a police officer in the Massachusetts bay transportation authority police...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Bay transportation authority police; appointments and promotions; probationary periods; evaluation - Chapter 31, Section 65
  Original and promotional appointments in the Massachusetts bay transportation authority police force shall be made only after competitive examination. An examination for a promotional appointment...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Labor service positions in highways department; certification; promotions; districts - Chapter 31, Section 66
  The administrator shall certify persons to fill positions in the labor service of the highway division in the Massachusetts Department of Transportation according to districts...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Annual list of civil service employees; posting; enforcement; penalties - Chapter 31, Section 67
  Each appointing authority shall submit to the administrator, on or before March first of each year, a list of civil service employees in its department...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Reports of appointment, promotion, demotion, leaves of absence, etc. - Chapter 31, Section 68
  Each appointing authority shall report in writing forthwith to the administrator of any appointment or employment, promotion, demotion, transfer, change in duties or pay, reinstatement,...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Reports of appointment or employment by appointing authority upon request; enforcement; penalties - Chapter 31, Section 69
  Every appointing authority shall file, within seven days after the receipt of a written request from the administrator, a report containing the names of all...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Records; examination papers; inspection; destruction - Chapter 31, Section 70
  The commission and the administrator shall maintain on file a record of their proceedings. Such records shall be open to public inspection pursuant to the...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Rosters of positions; filing; use; penalties - Chapter 31, Section 71
  The administrator shall prepare and maintain in his office rosters of all civil service positions in the service of the commonwealth and in the cities...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Investigations; subpoenas; summoning witnesses, etc. - Chapter 31, Section 72
  The commission or the administrator may investigate all or part of the official and labor services, the work, duties and compensation of the persons employed...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Violations; notice; writs of mandamus - Chapter 31, Section 73
  If, in the opinion of the administrator, a person is appointed or employed in a civil service position in violation of the civil service law...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Prohibited activities; penalties - Chapter 31, Section 74
  No person shall wilfully or corruptly alter any examination paper of any applicant, or wilfully or corruptly substitute any other paper for such examination paper,...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Rights of municipal employees - Chapter 31, Section 75
  No person shall deny or interfere with the right of civil service employees employed by any city or town to petition, individually or collectively, the...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Positions subject to federal merit system standards; minimum qualifications - Chapter 31, Section 76
  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary no individual, other than in an emergency as heretofore set forth in this section, shall be appointed,...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Enforcement of laws and rules - Chapter 31, Section 77
  The administrator may take any necessary and appropriate action to enforce the civil service law and rules.

Last modified: September 11, 2015