Civil Service "Rule of Five" Upheld
October 2002
The state court of appeals has upheld a Seattle civil service rule allowing
the appointing authority (the chief of police) to fill a position by selecting
a candidate from the top five applicants by the civil service commission.
The court found that this "Rule of Five" had historical roots, was similar to the "Rule of Three" previously upheld by the court, and "substantially accomplished" the purposes of the state civil service laws.
Another aspect of the Seattle rules, however, one that allowed the chief to select from either the top five candidates or the top 25 percent of the applicants, whichever number was greater, was held to give the chief too much discretion and thus was inconsistent with state law. See Ramm v. Seattle, Docket No. 48499-1-I, decided September 16, 2002.
For related information, see our "Civil
Service" Web page.