(a) Examinations shall be in such form and of such character and shall relate to such matters as will fairly test and determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of the persons tested to perform the duties of the class or position to which they seek appointment. Examinations shall be formulated in cooperation with agencies appointing specific classes of employees and shall be competitive and open to all persons who may be lawfully appointed to any position in the class for which examinations are held, with such limitations as to age, residence, health, habits, character, sex and qualifications as are considered desirable by the Commissioner of Administrative Services and as are specified in the public announcement of the examination, provided no such limitation shall be made as to age or sex except in the case of a bona fide occupational qualification or need. Formal education requirements may be considered as a condition for the taking of such examinations. Possession of a professional license or degree, or satisfactory completion of an accreditation, certificate or licensure program may serve as the sole basis for appointment, provided such credentials are a mandatory requirement for employment in a position. Examinations may take the form of written or oral tests, demonstration of skill or physical ability, experience and training evaluation, or in the case of promotional examinations, evaluation of prior performance, or any other assessment device or technique deemed appropriate to measure the knowledge, skills or abilities required to successfully perform the duties of the job. All persons competing for placement on any one candidate list shall be administered the same or equivalent forms of the same examination or examination phases, except as necessary to comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and section 4-61nn, and be required to achieve passing scores on each successive phase and for the examination as a whole in order to remain in competition. The provisions of this section shall be the sole determinant for qualification and no other examination shall be permitted by any agency head to further qualify persons seeking appointment except as authorized by the commissioner.

(b) The commissioner may charge any person not employed by the state a reasonable fee for taking an examination, provided such fee shall not exceed the cost of developing and administering such examination. The commissioner may waive any such fee for any person who applies, in the form and manner prescribed by the commissioner, for a waiver of such fee and demonstrates that he or she is financially unable to pay such fee. Before charging any fees authorized by this subsection, the commissioner shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to establish reasonable fees.

(1967, P.A. 657, S. 28; P.A. 73-184; P.A. 74-166, S. 1, 3; P.A. 77-614, S. 66, 521, 610; P.A. 79-183, S. 2; 79-560, S. 3, 39; 79-621, S. 11, 24; P.A. 83-57; P.A. 92-165, S. 10, 32; P.A. 93-274, S. 2, 7; P.A. 96-168, S. 8, 34; P.A. 98-205, S. 3; P.A. 13-247, S. 354; P.A. 15-182, S. 2.)

History: P.A. 73-184 forbade use of other examinations and devices to further qualify applicants for positions; P.A. 74-166 deleted citizenship requirement for examinations; P.A. 77-614 substituted commissioner of administrative services for personnel commissioner and, effective January 1, 1979, department of human resources for welfare department; P.A. 79-183 required consideration of volunteer service in establishing qualifications for test eligibility; P.A. 79-560 included income maintenance department in provision re commissioner's establishment of educational requirements; P.A. 79-621 deleted proviso re requirements for positions in human resources and income maintenance departments and added provisions re form and contents of tests; P.A. 83-57 provided that positions subject to accreditation and professional requirements may have formal education requirements established as a prerequisite to taking an examination for any such position; P.A. 92-165 changed “test” to “examination” and “employment list” to “candidate list”, deleted language prohibiting establishment of formal education requirements, added provision allowing consideration of formal education requirements as a condition for taking examinations, and added provision re completion of accreditation, certificate or licensure program as the sole basis for appointment; P.A. 93-274 authorized the modification of state examinations to accommodate candidates with disabilities in order to comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, effective June 30, 1993; P.A. 96-168 eliminated provision for consideration of volunteer experience and made technical changes in terminology, effective July 1, 1996; P.A. 98-205 added reference to Sec. 4-61nn; P.A. 13-247 designated existing provisions as Subsec. (a) and amended same by deleting provision re free examinations and added Subsec. (b) re fees, effective July 1, 2013; P.A. 15-182 amended Subsec. (b) to replace provision requiring adoption of regulations to carry out purposes of subsection with provision requiring commissioner to adopt regulations establishing reasonable fees before charging any fees, effective July 1, 2015.

Cited. 174 C. 606.