Points on the public job exam for receiving economic assistance

It is the law that adds points to the public job exam for someone receiving governmental economic assistance under the federal PRWORA. The figure has a twist in your favour: it is five points or five per cent, whichever turns out greater. And it brings something almost nobody knows: you are not obliged to say you receive the aid, but if you choose to say it to obtain the benefit, that information is confidential, and the employment form itself must tell you so.

To be a beneficiary of governmental economic assistance programmes falling under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, federal Public Law No. 104-193 of August 22, 1996. The law adds two conditions that travel together: being “on equal academic, technical or experience terms with any other applicant for the same post, job or work opportunity,” and being “close to completing sixty (60) months of participating in those benefits.” All of it subject to the Public Service Personnel Act and to the merit principle, as the law itself says.

• To be a beneficiary of a governmental economic assistance programme under federal Public Law No. 104-193 (P.R.W.O.R.A.).Verified against the official source
• To be on equal academic, technical or experience terms with any other applicant for the same post, job or work opportunity.Verified against the official source
• To be close to completing sixty (60) months of participating in those benefits.Verified against the official source

Information pending verification.

1. 1

   Step 1: Five points or 5%, whichever is greater

   The formula is written in favour of whoever uses it and is worth quoting in full. It is the agencies’ obligation to “add five (5) points or five per cent (5%), whichever is greater, to the score obtained on any test or exam required to qualify to fill any post, job or work opportunity.” On a high score, the 5% beats five points; on a low one, five points beat the 5%. The law takes the greater of the two.

2. 2

   Step 2: You are not obliged to say it

   The law protects both decisions. “The beneficiary of the governmental economic assistance programmes referred to in this Act is not obliged to report that they are a person who receives governmental economic assistance benefits, but has the right to do so for the purposes of this benefit.” Staying silent does not penalise you; saying it is what activates the points.

3. 3

   Step 3: And if you say it, it is confidential — and the form must say so

   This is the detail that gives confidence to use the benefit: “the information supplied by that person, as to their condition of being a beneficiary of governmental economic aid, shall be kept confidential. To that end, that right to confidentiality must be stated on the employment forms supplied to the person for completion.” If the form does not say it, that notice is missing.

4. 4

   Step 4: The two conditions that travel with the benefit

   Worth reading before counting on the points. The first: the person “must be on equal academic, technical or experience terms with any other applicant for the same post, job or work opportunity.” The second: “that they be close to completing sixty (60) months of participating in those benefits.” The law does not define in its text how close “close” is, and we do not fill that in.

5. 5

   Step 5: Where it applies, and where it does not

   The reach is broad but has an express carve-out. The law applies “to all agencies, departments, dependencies, corporations, political subdivisions and any other instrumentality of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, with the exception of municipalities.” Municipalities are outside by the text.

6. 6

   Step 6: Subject to the merit principle

   The law says it in its first line and it is honest to report it: the obligation exists “subject to Act No. 5 of October 14, 1975, as amended, better known as the Public Service Personnel Act and to the merit principle.” The points are added to the score; they do not replace the post’s requirements. We did not read Act 5-1975 for this guide.

7. 7

   Step 7: If you are denied: fine, jail and the right granted

   The law sets three consequences and the third is what matters most to whoever claims. “Any person, natural or juridical, who intentionally violates or in any way denies or obstructs enjoyment of the preference granted by this Act (…) incurs a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished with a fine of no less than two hundred (200) dollars and no more than five hundred (500) dollars; and subsequent violations shall be punished with a penalty not exceeding six (6) months of imprisonment.” And it adds: “The Court’s sentence must also provide that the beneficiary (…) be granted, without delay, the right that was denied.”

There is no central office: the benefit is exercised before the agency administering the test or exam, by reporting the condition on the employment form if you choose to. The law authorises agencies to adopt the necessary regulations and forms, and that is how it is implemented. If your matter is the disability preference on the public job exam, that is a different law and has its own guide here; and if what you are looking for are the economic assistance programmes themselves, so do those.

• Asking for five points and no more: the law gives five points or five per cent (5%), whichever is greater.
• Believing you must declare the aid: the law says you are not obliged to report it, but that you have the right to do so to obtain the benefit.
• Fearing the information will be disclosed: the law declares it confidential and requires that right to be stated on the employment forms.
• Counting on the benefit at a municipality: the law expressly excludes municipalities.
• Thinking the points replace the post’s requirements: the benefit is subject to the Public Service Personnel Act and the merit principle.
• Not claiming a refusal: denying or obstructing the preference is a misdemeanor, and the sentence must order the denied right granted without delay.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Oficina de Administración y Transformación de los Recursos Humanos (OATRH)

  OATRH

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov