N.Y. Civ. Serv. Law § 59-b

§ 59-b. Promotions of supervisory personnel of the emergency medical\nservice. 1. The legislature hereby finds and declares that the\ncontinued, uninterrupted, adequate and efficient operation of emergency\nmedical services is necessary for the general welfare of the people;\nthat such adequate operation involves and requires personnel with highly\nspecialized ability, skill, training and knowledge, which necessitate\nthat vacancies in the emergency medical services in the positions of\nSupervising Emergency Medical Service Specialist Level II (Captains),\nDeputy Chief, Division Chief, and Division Commander, shall be filled as\nfar as practicable by promotion from among persons holding competitive\nclass positions in a lower grade in the department in which the vacancy\nexists, provided that such lower grade positions are in direct line of\npromotion, as determined by the department or municipal commission.\n 2. Promotion shall be based on merit and fitness as determined by\ncompetitive examination, due weight being given to seniority. The\nprevious training and experience of the candidates, and performance\nratings where available, may be considered and given due weight as\nfactors in determining the relative merit and fitness of candidates for\npromotion.\n 3. Any permanent competitive employee holding a provisional or\ndiscretionary appointment in the affected supervisory titles of the\nemergency medical service described in subdivision one of this section\nshall be given the opportunity to participate in a competitive\npromotional examination for the next higher level title.\n 4. Except as provided above, the provisions of this chapter shall\napply to employees covered by this section.\n