Chapter 123:1-5 | Classified and Unclassified Service Classification

Rule 123:1-5-01 | Unclassified service.

• Effective: April 10, 2026
• Promulgated Under: 119.03

(A) Designation of exemptions. Within sixty days after taking office, each elective officer and each principal appointive officer, board, commission, or body having the power of appointment to, or removal from, positions in the service of the state in any office, department, commission, board, or institution, will designate to the director the positions for which exemption from the competitive classified service is claimed under the provisions of division (A)(8) of section 124.11 of the Revised Code.

Thereafter, no change in the designation of exemptions claimed under this provision will be made during the incumbency of such officer, board, commission, or body unless a reorganization occurs as a result of legislative action during the appointing officer's, board's, commission's, or body's term of office, or the duties of the position have changed to an extent that warrants a change in the classification of the position. When a change in duties warrants a change in classification under this rule, only the classification of the position can be changed, otherwise the actual position's unclassified status will remain the same. The appointive officer, board, commission, or body will file a statement of reasons for such proposed change with the director and receive confirmation from the director that the change is acceptable prior to the change becoming effective.

If exemptions have not been designated by the appointing officer, board, commission, or body as herein provided within sixty days after taking office, the exemptions previously designated and in effect under this provision are considered the exemptions claimed by such appointing authority and will continue to be in effect.

(B) Deputies and assistants. Notices from appointing authorities of the appointment of deputies and assistants, as defined in this paragraph, in the service of the state who are exempt from the classified service under the provisions of division (A)(9) of section 124.11 of the Revised Code will be accompanied by a statement of the provisions of the law under which such deputies and assistants are appointed and a statement of the duties to be assigned to such appointees that shows they are acting for or on behalf of the agency and/or that they are performing duties that demonstrate an administrative and/or fiduciary relation with their agency, as defined in rule 124-1-02 of the Administrative Code.

(1) Assistant - is an employee who aids and assists an appointing authority in the discharge and performance of duties that are of a confidential and fiduciary character and that involve the responsibility of the principal, or an employee who holds a fiduciary or administrative relationship to the agency.

(2) Deputy - is an employee authorized by law to act generally for or in place of the employee's principal and holding a fiduciary relationship to such principal, or an employee holding a fiduciary or administrative relationship to the agency.

(C) Requests for exemption from the classified service under division (A)(12) of section 124.11 of the Revised Code for positions in the service of the state will be accompanied by a written statement from the appointing authority setting forth the reasons why it is impracticable to include such employees or positions in the competitive classified service.

Last updated April 10, 2026 at 7:46 AM

Supplemental Information

Authorized By: 124.09
Amplifies: 124.11
Five Year Review Date: 1/15/2029
Prior Effective Dates: 2/4/1996, 2/19/2008, 11/18/2012

Rule 123:1-5-02 | Unskilled labor class.

• Effective: April 10, 2026
• Promulgated Under: 119.03

(A) The unskilled labor class, referred to in division (B)(2) of section 124.11 of the Revised Code, will include any classifications that have minimal or no experience or education requirements and that are designated as such by the director.

(1) Registration for these classifications in the service of the state will be conducted by the director.

(2) An applicant for such registration will furnish evidence or take such tests as the director considers appropriate with respect to the applicant's age, residence, physical condition, ability to labor, honesty, sobriety, industry, capacity, and experience in the work or employment for which application is made.

(3) Laborers who fulfill the requirements shall be placed on the eligible list for the kind of labor or employment sought, and preference will be given in employment in accordance with the rating received from that evidence or in those tests.

(4) Certified appointments to positions in the unskilled labor class will be from lists of applicants registered by the director.

(5) For purposes of this rule, "register" means the process by which all applicants deemed acceptable as meeting the minimum qualifications for a job classification in the unskilled labor class, and/or deemed acceptable as determined by the director will be placed on an eligible list, ranked chronologically by the date and time the application was received. All eligible applicants will be given the minimum score of seventy points, prior to application of credit for military service as provided in section 124.26 of the Revised Code.

(B) Resident unskilled labor positions. Those unskilled labor positions, referred to in division (A)(12) of section 124.11 of the Revised Code, include positions that are filled by residents in the state service institutions. These residents, being employed for pay for part-time or limited service, will be excluded from the classified civil service and will be exempt from all civil service examinations. Compensation rates for these positions will be approved by the director of administrative services.

(C) Subsidized employment positions. Those unskilled labor positions within a subsidized employment program, established pursuant to Chapter 5107. of the Revised Code, will be excluded from the classified civil service and will be exempt from all civil service examinations.

Last updated April 10, 2026 at 7:42 AM

Supplemental Information

Authorized By: 124.09
Amplifies: 124.11, 5107.52
Five Year Review Date: 1/15/2029
Prior Effective Dates: 6/18/2000, 4/4/2024

Rule 123:1-5-03 | Retaining rights to the classified service upon appointment to the unclassified service.

• Effective: April 10, 2026
• Promulgated Under: 119.03

A certified or permanent employee appointed to an unclassified position pursuant to division (D) of section 124.11 of the Revised Code on or after March 30, 1999, are subject to the following:

(A) Upon return to the classified service, an employee will be placed back into the same classification from which the initial appointment to the unclassified service was made, or similar classification as provided in division (D) of section 124.11 of the Revised Code. The employee's total rate of pay will be adjusted to reflect the compensation to which the employee would be entitled had he or she remained in the former classified position.

(B) An employee appointed to the unclassified service while serving a probationary period will serve the remainder of the probationary period of the same or similar classification upon return to the classified service.

(C) Time spent in the unclassified service does not count for the purposes of becoming permanent in the classified service.

Last updated April 10, 2026 at 7:42 AM

Supplemental Information

Authorized By: 124.09
Amplifies: 124.11
Five Year Review Date: 1/15/2029
Prior Effective Dates: 2/13/2000, 7/1/2006