§ 78. Transfer of personnel upon the abolition of positions in state
civil service. 1. Where necessitated by reasons of economy, efficiency,
consolidation or abolition of functions, curtailment of activities or
otherwise, employees may be transferred, without further examination,
from one agency or department of the state, or from the Roswell Park
Cancer Institute as defined in subparagraph (i) of paragraph d of
section one of chapter forty-one of the laws of nineteen hundred
ninety-seven, as amended, to positions in the same title or any
comparable title, as determined by the department, in another department
or agency of the state. Where more than one employee in the title and
location from which transfer is to be made is eligible and willing to
accept transfer, the department shall place the names of those employees
upon a transfer list, and certify such list for filling vacancies, as
hereinafter provided, first, in the same position; second, in any
position in a lower grade in line of promotion; and third, in any
comparable position. Such transfer list may be certified for filling a
vacancy in any such position before certification is made from any other
eligible list, placement roster, reemployment or preferred list, except
as provided in subdivision four of this section.

2. Order of certification of names from transfer list. a. The names of
persons on a transfer list established to fill vacancies in the same
position or a position in a lower grade in line of promotion shall be
certified therefrom in the order of their original appointments, in
accordance with the provisions of subdivision three of section eighty,
subdivision three of section eighty-a and subdivision seven of section
eighty-five of this chapter.

b. The names of persons on a transfer list established to fill
vacancies in a comparable position shall be certified therefrom with
equal ranking for appointment.

3. Probation. a. Upon appointment to a position in the same title, a
probationer shall be required to complete his or her probationary term.

b. Completion of a probationary term, to the extent provided for in
the rules promulgated by the commission pursuant to subdivision two of
section sixty-three of this chapter, shall be required for all
appointments to a position in a comparable title.

4. Relative seniority. Where a preferred list exists containing the
names of persons who have been suspended or demoted from a position in
the same title to which an appointment is to be made, the relative
seniority, determined in accordance with the provisions of subdivision
three of section eighty, subdivision three of section eighty-a and
subdivision seven of section eighty-five of this chapter, of the person
certified first on such preferred list willing to accept appointment and
the person certified first on the transfer list willing to accept
appointment shall be compared and the person with the greater seniority
shall be certified first.

5. Termination of eligibility. Eligibility for appointment from a
transfer list shall terminate on the date of the suspension, demotion or
relocation. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, any
employee may voluntarily remove his or her name from a transfer list by
application to the department.

6. Rulemaking authority. The president shall adopt rules for carrying
into effect the provisions of this section, including rules for the
relinquishment of eligibility.

7. The department shall continue to establish lists under the
provisions of this section.