§ 55-a. Employment of persons with disabilities by municipalities. 1.
Municipal civil service commissions in the state may, by rule, determine
a prescribed number of positions, not to exceed seven hundred positions,
with duties which can be performed by physically or mentally disabled
persons who are found qualified, in the manner hereafter prescribed, to
perform satisfactorily such duties.

2. Upon such a determination, such positions shall be classified in
the non-competitive class, and shall be filled by persons who shall have
been certified by either the commission for the blind in the state
office of children and family services as physically disabled by
blindness or by the state education department as otherwise physically
or mentally disabled and, in any event, qualified to perform
satisfactorily the duties of any such position. At least three hundred
of such positions shall be filled by persons who have been certified as
physically disabled. If no qualified physically disabled persons have
applied for such positions, the municipal civil service commission may
fill those unfilled positions with qualified mentally disabled persons.

3. Prior to making certification of physically or mentally disabled
persons for any such position, the commission for the blind in the case
of persons physically disabled by blindness or the state education
department in the case of persons otherwise physically or mentally
disabled shall obtain from the appropriate municipal civil service
commission a detailed description of all duties of the position, and
shall investigate the extent of the disability by examination of any
such person or otherwise, and shall determine and report its findings to
the appropriate civil service commission, as to the ability of the
disabled person to perform the duties of such position. Such findings
shall be given due consideration by the municipal civil service
commission.

4. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a municipal commission
may, for titles designated by it, extend to employees in the service of
a civil division who are holding or who have held a position in the
non-competitive class of such services pursuant to the provisions of
this section, the same opportunity as employees in the competitive class
to take promotion examinations.

5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a municipal commission
shall treat employees appointed pursuant to the provisions of this
section, who are holding or who have held a position in the
non-competitive class, as if they were employees in the competitive
class where, because of economy, consolidation, or abolition of
functions, curtailment of activities or otherwise, a number of such
positions in either the non-competitive or competitive classes are
abolished or reduced in rank or salary grade, suspension or demotion, as
further provided in title C of article five of this chapter. For
purposes of seniority, the date an employee is appointed pursuant to
this section, shall be deemed equivalent to the date a competitive
employee is appointed from an eligible list.