Section 145.5  Definitions

 

"Act" means the Fire Department Promotion Act [50 ILCS 742].

 

"Appointing authority" means the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners, Board of Fire Commissioners, Civil Service Commissioners, Superintendent or Department Head, Fire Protection District Board of Trustees, or other entity having the authority to administer and grant promotions in an affected department.

 

"Assessment center" is an examination process that is designed to simulate situations that are common to the rank being tested and designed to measure the knowledge, skills, abilities and personal characteristics of the individual candidate in a given situation.

 

"Assessor" means a person qualified under JLMC standards to evaluate candidates for promotion within an Illinois fire department during an assessment center.

 

"BATC" means Basic Assessor Training Course.

 

"Department" means a fire department operated by a municipality or fire protection district affected by the Act and this Part (see Section 145.10(c)).

 

"JLMC" means the Joint Labor and Management Committee created by Section 50 of the Act.

 

"OSFM" means the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

 

"Parties" means the employer and exclusive bargaining representative to a collective bargaining agreement covering the candidates for promotion.

 

(Source:  Amended at 39 Ill. Reg. 11477, effective July 31, 2015)

 

Section 145.10  Introduction

 

a)         The Fire Department Promotion Act [50 ILCS 742] establishes the Joint Labor and Management Committee (JLMC) for the purpose of establishing the experience, training and certification requirements for individuals that will grade candidates for promotion during an assessment center. Individuals who meet the requirements established by JLMC will be certified by JLMC for a 2 year period and listed on a Roster of Certified Assessors maintained by OSFM and JLMC.

 

b)         The JLMC is composed of 2 representatives from the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association and 2 representatives from the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois.  Questions, comments and requests for an application to submit for certification can be obtained by contacting JLMC using the following contact information:

 

Joint Labor Management Committee

929 S. Second St., Suite B

Springfield IL 62704

217/522-8180

 

c)         This Part is applicable to all full-time municipal fire departments (with a population less than 1,000,000) subject to a collective bargaining agreement and all full-time fire departments operated by fire protection districts.  Subject to any collective bargaining agreement, fire departments may use persons employed or appointed by the jurisdiction administering the examination.  However, fire departments are encouraged to utilize certified assessors if an assessment center is part of the promotion process.

 

(Source:  Amended at 39 Ill. Reg. 11477, effective July 31, 2015)

 

Section 145.20  Requirements for Certification

 

An individual desiring to be a certified assessor must apply to JLMC for certification and meet the following minimum requirements established by JLMC:

 

a)         Possess a minimum of 10 years of service as a full-time sworn firefighter, including at least 3 years of service as a company officer or higher;

 

b)         Successfully complete the Basic Assessor Training Course (BATC) administered by a JLMC approved provider that conforms to the training syllabus established by JLMC;

 

c)         Successfully complete the practical requirements established by JLMC and participate in 2 assessment centers as a non-grading assessor within one year after completion of the BATC; and

 

d)         Sign a pledge to comply with the Code of Ethics for Illinois Assessors.

 

(Source:  Amended at 39 Ill. Reg. 11477, effective July 31, 2015)

 

Section 145.30  Requirements for Recertification

 

a)         Assessor certification is valid for 2 years.  JLMC will notify certified assessors in advance of the expiration date of the requirement to apply for recertification.  Certified assessors will have a 90 day grace period from the expiration date to become recertified by submitting proof of completion of the requirements of subsection (b).

 

b)         The certified assessor must complete eight hours of participation in the following activities during each 2 year certification period in order to be recertified by JLMC:

 

1)         4 assessment center evaluations;

 

2)         certified assessor continuing education; or

 

3)         other courses related to employee appraisals or evaluations approved by JLMC.  In order to receive approval for a course, the assessor must submit the course curriculum to JLMC for approval.  Approval will be granted or denied by JLMC on a case-by-case basis. 

 

c)         JLMC may provide reasonable recertification deadline extensions.  Failure to recertify within the 90 day grace period will result in the assessor's name being removed from the list of certified assessors unless the assessor has requested from, and been granted an extension by, JLMC.

 

(Source:  Amended at 39 Ill. Reg. 11477, effective July 31, 2015)

 

Section 145.40  JLMC List of Certified Assessors

 

JLMC will provide to OSFM a list of all certified assessors and will, at least annually, amend that list by adding new assessors, removing assessors and confirming recertification requirements for each certified assessor.

 

(Source:  Amended at 39 Ill. Reg. 11477, effective July 31, 2015)

 

Section 145.50  Roster of Certified Assessors

 

OSFM will establish and maintain a roster of the assessors that JLMC has certified and post that information on the agency's website.

 

Section 145.60  Assessor Selection by the Parties

 

a)         Parties to a promotion process may agree to:

 

1)         enter into their own contract with a particular testing company to provide certified assessors;

 

2)         request OSFM to provide a random list of certified assessors from which the parties can select; or

 

3)                  procure a roster from OSFM as provided in Section 145.80.

 

b)         The parties to a promotion process may also agree to permit members of the appointing authority or non-certified assessors that have specialized technical expertise to participate on the assessment panel.

 

c)         Parties to a collective bargaining agreement covering the candidates for the promotion for which certified assessors are required may agree to their own process to select certified assessors.

 

Section 145.70  Use of Roster of Certified Assessors

 

a)         Should either party request a panel of certified assessors from OSFM, OSFM will select at random from the roster a panel numbering not less than 2 times the number of assessors required and provide that list within 7 days after receiving the request.

 

b)         The parties shall augment the number by a factor of 50% by designating certified assessors who may serve as alternates to the primary assessors.

 

c)         The parties shall select certified assessors from the list supplied by OSFM.

 

d)         The parties shall notify OSFM, within 7 days following the receipt of the list, of the assessors they have selected.  If the parties fail to notify OSFM of their selection of certified assessors within the 7 days, OSFM shall appoint the certified assessors required from the list of certified assessors provided.

 

e)         Unless the parties agree to an alternate selection procedure, each party shall alternatively strike a name from the list provided by OSFM until the required number of assessors remains.  A coin toss shall determine which party strikes the first name. 

 

f)         In the event a certified assessor is not able to participate in the assessment center for which he or she was selected, either of the parties involved in the promotion process may request that additional names of certified assessors be provided by OSFM.  [50 ILCS 742/50(h)]

 

Section 145.80  Special Requests

 

a)         An interested individual may obtain a complete roster from the OSFM website. If an individual does not have access to the internet or requests a particular roster search (e.g., area of the State in which the assessor provides services, areas of special knowledge, etc.), he or she may submit a special request to OSFM. Special requests for rosters shall be in writing, explain the purpose and proposed use of the request and be submitted or faxed to OSFM's Springfield office. In addition, the request may be submitted through the OSFM website.

 

b)         OSFM reserves the right to deny any special request that contains information that might constitute an invasion of privacy of certified assessors or if it will be used for solicitation or commercial purposes that OSFM finds objectionable.