Massachusetts General Laws
Chapter 31 - Civil Service
Section 31 - Emergency Appointments; Renewal

Section 31. An appointing authority may, without submitting a requisition to the administrator and without complying with other provisions of the civil service law and rules incident to the normal appointment process, make an emergency appointment to any civil service position other than laborer for a total of not more than thirty working days during a sixty day period. Such appointment shall be made only when the circumstances requiring it could not have been foreseen and when the public business would be seriously impeded by the time lapse incident to the normal appointment process. Upon making such an appointment, the appointing authority shall immediately notify the administrator in writing, in such form and detail as the administrator may require, of the reason for the appointment and the expected duration of the employment thereunder. No renewal of such emergency appointment shall be made without the consent of the administrator.
An emergency appointment may, upon written request of the appointing authority and with the consent of the administrator, be renewed for an additional thirty working days. The administrator shall not consent to more than one such renewal of the appointment unless the position is in a department, institution or hospital carrying out functions connected with the public safety or public health and the public service would suffer if a second renewal were not granted, in which case the administrator may consent to a second renewal. No person shall receive more than one such appointment or one such appointment and renewal, as the case may be, in any twelve month period, except as otherwise provided in this section.

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