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Kelly v. City of New Haven9/27/2005
competitive examination of candidates to determine eligibility for promotion. The city's civil service board oversees and certifies the examination process. In practice, that board contracts with private individuals and companies to devise and administer the examinations used to establish eligibility lists.
A total examination score of 70 percent or higher is required for an applicant to be placed upon an eligibility list. The examination consists of written and oral components. Each component is scored separately; however, those candidates who do not score 70 percent or higher on the written examination are not invited to participate in the oral examination. A computer program utilized by the testing company yields scores calculated to at least two decimal points. The scores are then weighted, combined to create a total raw score, also calculated out to at least two decimal points, and provided to the city. The personnel director's office creates an eligibility list for each rank for which there is a vacancy, which in turn is approved by the civil service board.
Once an eligibility list has been certified by the civil service board, the list has no more than a two year life. A candidate whose place in the ranking is not reached for promotion before the expiration of a list, or who has been passed over for promotion, can participate in the next examination when it is offered and attempt to make the new eligibility list.
When a vacancy occurs for a position, the chief of police chooses which candidate to promote among a prescribed number of candidates on the eligibility list and sends that recommendation to the board of police commissioners. The board of police commissioners is the appointing authority, but, as a practical matter, it routinely approves the recommendations of the police chief. Commonly, multiple appointments to a higher rank are made at one time.
The prescribed number of candidates who may be considered for promotion are set forth under the "rule of three" adopted by the city. First adopted in 1909, the rule of three was expressed as a requirement that promotion be made from "those applicants, not exceeding three, who shall stand highest" on the eligibility list. The city's civil service rules, promulgated by the civil service board under authority granted to it pursuant to the charter, similarly limit such promotion. As early as 1972, however, the city adopted the practice of treating candidates with tie scores as being equally eligible for promotional consideration, thus creating a score group. In 1993, a revision to the charter changed the language setting forth the rule of three to provide that promotions from the eligibility lists must be from among "those applicants with the three highest scores." The civil service rules continue to require that promotions be made from "those applicants, not exceeding three, who shall stand highest" on the eligibility list.
In practice, before at least 1990, the defendants considered the individuals with the top three scores, calculated to at least two decimal points, for each open position. Because tie scores were relatively rare, the police chief and the board of police commissioners typically would be able to choose among three to four candidates for each open position.
Sometime between 1990 and 1994, the city changed the methodology it uses for promotions within the police department to the one at issue in the present appeal. Under the new methodology, the city personnel director rounds to the nearest whole number the computer generated scores given to the city by the outside testing company. Under this methodology, raw scores with a decimal component below 0.50 are rounded down to t
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