Rule 14: Promotions and Eligibility Lists

14.01 ELIGIBILITY FOR PROMOTIONS:

To be eligible for promotion, a telecommunications officer, detention officer or deputy must meet the following prerequisites:

(a) Telecommunications Supervisor (Non-Certified Peace Officer):

1. Must be actively licensed by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) as a Telecommunicator.
2. Must hold a Basic Telecommunicator Proficiency Certification, or higher certification.
3. Must have a minimum of thirty-six (36) months continuous, full-time employment with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office as a Telecommunications Officer by December 31st of the testing year.
4. Must be presently serving in the rank of Telecommunications Officer.

(b) Detention Sergeant (Non-Certified Peace Officer):

1. Must be actively licensed by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) as a Jailer.
2. Must hold a Basic Jailer Proficiency Certification, or higher certification.
3. Must have a minimum of thirty-six (36) months continuous, full-time employment with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office as a Jailer by December 31st of the testing year.
4. Must be presently serving in the rank of Detention Officer.

(c) Detention Lieutenant (Non-Certified Peace Officer):

1. Must be actively licensed by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) as a Jailer.
2. Must hold an Intermediate Jailer Proficiency Certification, or higher certification.
3. Must have a minimum of seventy-two (72) months of continuous, full-time employment with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office as a Jailer by December 31st of the testing year.
4. Must currently be serving in the rank of Detention Sergeant for a period of not less than thirty-six (36) months by December 31st of the testing year.

(d) Detention Captain (Non-Certified Peace Officer):

1. Must be actively licensed by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) as a Jailer.
2. Must hold an Advanced Jailer Proficiency Certification, or higher certification.
3. Must have a minimum of one hundred and eight (108) months of continuous, fulltime employment with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office as a Jailer by December 31st of the testing year.
4. Must currently be serving in the rank of Detention Lieutenant for a period of not less than thirty-six (36) months by December 31st of the testing year.

(e) Sergeant (Certified Peace Officer):

1. Must be actively licensed by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) as a Peace Officer.
2. Must hold a Basic Peace Officer Proficiency Certification, or higher certification.
3. Must have a minimum of thirty-six (36) months continuous, full-time employment with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office as a Peace Officer by December 31st of the testing year.
4. Must be presently serving in the rank of Deputy.

(f) Lieutenant (Certified Peace Officer):

1. Must be actively licensed by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) as a Peace Officer.
2. Must hold an Intermediate Peace Officer Proficiency Certification, or higher certification.
3. Must have a minimum of seventy-two (72) months continuous, full-time employment with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office as a Peace Officer by December 31st of the testing year.
4. Must currently be serving in the rank of Sergeant for a period of not less than thirtysix (36) months by December 31st of the testing year.

(g) Captain (Certified Peace Officer):

1. Must be actively licensed by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) as a Peace Officer.
2. Must hold an Advanced Peace Officer Proficiency Certification, or higher certification.
3. Must have a minimum of one hundred and eight (108) months of continuous, fulltime employment with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office as a Peace Officer by December 31st of the testing year.
4. Must currently be serving in the rank of Lieutenant for a period of not less than thirty-six (36) months by December 31st of the testing year.

14.02 PROCEDURES FOR SELECTION:

(a) The Harris County Sheriff’s Office Civil Service Commission shall publish a list of promotional study material no less than 75 days prior to the exam date, to be used for the written examinations to be administered in September of every other calendar year beginning in 2021. The Civil Service Commission will maintain all promotional materials and access will be limited to the Director or his/her designee.

(b) All eligible personnel desiring to take the promotional test shall submit a Letter of Intent to the Civil Service Commission on or before the 60th day after the Commission posts the list of promotional study material. The Letter of Intent (LOI) must accompany all supporting documentation fulfilling requirements such as copies of TCOLE certification, college transcripts, degree diploma, Department of Defense form 214 (DD-214), etc., that are not on file. It is the responsibility of the applicant to confirm all supporting documents are accessible within his/her file or are attached to the LOI by the deadline for the LOI.

(c) The Civil Service Commission may conduct a supplemental promotional selection process at any other time the Commission may be deem necessary for the purpose of maintaining an eligibility list of candidates qualified for promotion.

(d) All notifications, including as to the location, date and time and study materials for the promotional selection process will be posted in accordance with Rule 3.06(b) of these Rules.

14.03 PROMOTIONAL SELECTION PROCESS:

(a) Written Examination:

1. The written examination shall include questions pertaining to law enforcement practices and procedures, criminal and applicable civil law, leadership principles and departmental policies and procedures as provided in the study materials published by the Commission for the current testing year.
2. The written examination shall be administered by the Civil Service Commission at the location, date and time designated in the published Civil Service announcement.
3. The written examination requires a minimum score of 70 based upon a total score of 100 points in order for the candidate to be eligible to proceed to the oral interview or assessment phase of the promotional selection process.

(b) Oral Interview and Assessment Center:

1. To determine eligibility for the candidate to proceed to the oral interview / assessment phase a score of 70 or above must be attained on the written examination. All testing candidates who score a 70 or above on the written examination will proceed to the oral interview or assessment phase. This applies to all ranks.
2. The oral interview / assessment will commence at the location, date, and time designated in the published Civil Service announcement to all candidates who have successfully passed the written examination.
3. Each testing year the Civil Service Commission shall convene a Board of Examiners, whose job will be to determine the current testing year’s study material and to work with the 3rd party exam writer(s) and assessors. The Board of Examiners shall consist of the following persons: 2 representatives appointed by the Employee organizations; 2 representatives appointed by the Sheriff; and 1 representative from the Civil Service Commission.
4. The Civil Service Commission shall oversee the selection and hiring of the 3rd party independent exam writer(s) and assessors for all ranks and in the promotional process. The Commission shall seek the cooperation of local law enforcement agencies to serve as a panel of assessors for each promotional rank. Each panel of assessors shall consist of law enforcement personnel who are the same or higher rank as the position being applied for promotion.
5. Each panel of assessors shall assess and assign each candidate appearing before them a numerical rating based upon his/her leadership skills, problem solving ability, communication skills, and presentation.
6. Civil Service Commission shall monitor and electronically record each individual assessment.
7. Upon completion of each assessment the Civil Service Commission will add the weight value of the written examination to the weight value of the assessment score. This total test score will then be added to time in service or time in rank depending on the rank of the exam taken, TCOLE proficiency certification, education, and/or military service. The total cumulative score will be used for the final ranking of the respective promotion candidate. Please see examples provided under 14.04 – Computation of Promotional Selection Scoring.

(c) Calculation of Service and Educational Points

1. Time In Service Computation (only applicable on examination to become Telecommunications Supervisor, Detention Sergeant, and Sergeant):

a. The Sheriff or his/her staff will make available to the Director of the Civil Service Commission each candidate’s date of hire.

b. Candidates will receive one (1) point per year (calculated by anniversary date of hire) of creditable service not to exceed seven (7) years for Telecommunications Officer testing to be Telecommunications Supervisor, Detention Officer testing to be Detention Sergeant, and Deputy testing to be Sergeant.

2. Time In Rank Computation (only applicable on examination to become Detention Lieutenant, Lieutenant and Captain):

a. The Sheriff or his/her staff will make available to the Director of the Civil Service Commission each candidate’s date promoted to current rank.

b. Candidates will receive one (1) point per year (calculated by anniversary date of promotion) of time in current rank not to exceed five (5) years.

3. TCOLE Proficiency Certification Credit:

a. The Civil Service Director will verify with TCOLE the current license status of each candidate.

b. Proficiency certification must be met by August 31st of the calendar year in which the test will be administered. Candidates shall provide the Director of Civil Service proof of required proficiency certification along with the Letter of Intent.

4. Education Credit:

a. The Civil Service Director will verify that the college/university is an accredited institution, and the degree(s) has been attained. For example, having sixty college credit hours without actually receiving an associate degree from an accredited higher institution does not count as having an associate degree.

b. Candidates will receive one (1) point for an associate degree, two (2) points for a bachelor’s degree, three (3) points for a master’s degree, and four (4) points for a doctorate degree (PhD) or Doctor of Jurisprudence degree (JD). It should be noted that candidates can only receive education credit or military service point, but not both. If the candidate has an associate degree or higher and the candidate has also served in the military, the candidate will not receive the military service point.

c. All degree programs must be completed by August 31st of the calendar year in which the test will be administered. Candidates shall provide the Director of Civil Service an official transcript along with the Letter of Intent.

5. Military Service:

a. The Civil Service Director will verify each candidate’s military service via the Department of Defense form 214 (DD-214) to ensure that the candidate was honorably discharged.

b. Candidates will receive one (1) point for military service regardless of time served. However, it should be noted that if the candidate has education credit where the candidate has obtained an Associate’s Degree or higher, the candidate will not receive the military service point.

14.04 COMPUTATION OF PROMOTIONAL SELECTION SCORING:

The Director of the Civil Service Commission will determine the eligibility score for promotion for the ranks of Telecommunications Supervisor, Detention Sergeant, Detention Lieutenant, Sergeant, Lieutenant and Captain using the following criteria:

	Possible Points
	Telecom / Sergeant	Lieutenant	Captain
(a) Written examination score: 70-100 points	70%	50%	30%
50%(b) Oral Interview/Assessment:	30%	50%	70%
(c) Time in service: 1 point per year of service up to a maximum of 7 years	7	N/A	N/A
(d) Time in rank: 1 point per year within current rank up to a maximum of 5 years	N/A	5	5
(e) TCOLE proficiency certification points: Intermediate – 1 point, Advanced – 2 points, Master – 3 points	3	3	3
(f) Education points per level of higher education degree: Associate – 1 point, Bachelor’s – 2 points, Master’s – 3 points, PhD or JD – 4 points	4	4	4
(g) Military service, regardless of years, with an honorable discharge. Note: cannot be combined with education points.	1	1	1

Example 1 – Candidate Jones is testing for the Detention Sergeant rank and he scores an 85 on the written examination and a 95 on the assessment. Candidate Jones has been with the department for 8 years, has an Advanced Jailer Proficiency Certification, a Bachelor’s Degree, and he is not a military veteran.

85 X 70% = 59.5 written examination points
95 X 30% = 28.5 assessment points

59.5 written examination points + 28.5 assessment points = 88 total points

88 total points + 7 points for time in service (maximum of 7 points) + 2 points for Advanced Jailer Proficiency Certification + 2 points for Bachelor’s Degree = 99 total cumulative score

Example 2 – Candidate Smith is testing for the Lieutenant rank (certified peace officer) and she scores a 96 on the written examination and a 90 on the assessment. Candidate Smith has been a Sergeant for 6 years, has a Master Peace Officer Proficiency Certification, a Master’s Degree, and she is a military veteran.

96 X 50% = 48 written examination points
90 X 50% = 45 assessment points

48 written examination points + 45 assessment points = 93 total points

93 total points + 5 points for time in rank (maximum of 5 points) + 3 points for Master Peace Officer Proficiency Certification + 3 points for Master’s Degree = 104 total cumulative score

Note: since Candidate Smith has the education credit, she does not get the military service point.

14.05 ELIGIBILITY LIST:

(a) Candidates for the ranks of Telecommunications Supervisor, Detention Sergeant, Detention Lieutenant, Sergeant, Lieutenant, and Captain will be ranked on the eligibility lists in descending order based upon the total cumulative score. Ties on the list for candidates of all ranks will be decided by the candidate’s date of hire with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. Further ties will be decided by the Employee Identification Number (EIN) with the lower number holding higher seniority.

(b) Eligibility lists shall be posted as soon as they are finalized following the promotional process or on such date the supplemental eligibility lists are prepared. All such eligibility lists shall specify the date upon which the lists go into effect and the expiration date.

(c) Reasons for removal from the Eligibility List shall be:

1. Promotion
2. Declining promotion
3. Resignation or termination from the Sheriff’s Office
4. Voluntary request of employee
5. Expiration of the eligibility list

(d) Any employee on Leave of Absence will maintain his/her position on the eligibility list, but will not be eligible for promotion until he/she returns to full duty.

14.06 PROMOTION:

(a) The Sheriff shall select from the appropriate promotional list a candidate from the top three ranked employees on the list.

(b) Any candidate passed over on the current eligibility list shall have the following rights available:

i The right to make a written request to the Sheriff for a written explanation of why he/she was passed over. The Sheriff, shall have 10 days to respond to the employee’s request; and

ii The right to appeal to the Civil Service Commission within 30 days of notice by the Sheriff that another employee was being promoted, who was not next in line.

(c) If the passed-over candidate is successful in the appeal process, the candidate shall automatically receive the next promotion when a vacancy to that rank occurs.

(d) If the passed-over candidate is unsuccessful in the appeal process, the candidate shall remain in his/her current position on the eligibility list.