The information below will help you determine which classification(s) is(are) appropriate for you. Applicants must meet the Minimum Qualifications as stated on this bulletin to compete in this examination.

Open and Open, Non-Promotional Examination(s):

• SUPERVISOR, OPERATIONS AND SAFETY SECTION, PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION - Open

For all Classifications, once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 12 months:

Exam Code(s):

2785

For SUPERVISOR, OPERATIONS AND SAFETY SECTION, PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION, once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 12 months:

Exam Code(s):

• EX-02785

The link to connect to the SUPERVISOR, OPERATIONS AND SAFETY SECTION, CPUC Training and Experience Evaluation examination is located farther down on this bulletin in the “EXAMINATION INFORMATION” section.  

If you have any questions regarding this examination bulletin or technical complications, please contact: The CPUC Selection Unit by clicking on the link: pucexams@cpuc.ca.gov

NOTE:  Communication through Email is the most expeditious and preferred method of communication.

Submit an Examination/Employment Application (STD 678) to apply for this examination.

Electronic applications can be submitted through your account at www.CalCareers.ca.gov.

You may apply by mail to:

• Attn: Human Resources Division - Selection Unit
  California Public Utilities Commission
  Selection Unit
  505 Van Ness Ave, Room 3008
  San Francisco, CA 94102
  

Indicate the Examination Code and Classification(s) on your Examination/Employment Application (STD 678).

You may drop off your application and any applicable or required documents at:

• Public Utilities Commission
  Examination/Selection Unit
  505 Van Ness Ave, Room 3008
  San Francisco, CA 94102
  8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Indicate the Examination Code and Classification(s) on your Examination/Employment Application (STD 678). All applicants must provide proof of identification. Accepted forms of identification are: 1) a photo identification card or 2) two forms of signed identification.

If you require assistance or alternative testing arrangements due to a disability, indicate on your application that you need reasonable accommodation. You will be contacted by a representative of the testing department to make the necessary arrangements. If you have not been contacted by the time you receive notification of testing, please contact the testing department listed in the Contact section of this bulletin.

If you are unable to submit your application or complete the test due to a disability, please contact the testing department listed in the Contact section of this bulletin.

All applicants must meet the education and/or experience requirements as stated on this exam bulletin to be accepted to the examination.

Unless otherwise stated in the Minimum Qualifications, qualifying experience may be combined on a proportionate basis if the requirements stated below include more than one pattern and are distinguished as "Either" 1, "or" 2, "or" 3, etc. For example, applicants possessing qualifying experience amounting to 50% of the required time of Pattern 1 and additional experience amounting to 50% of the required time of Pattern 2 may be accepted to an examination as meeting 100% of the overall experience requirement.

Experience:

Either I
Two years of experience with a transportation regulatory agency in the performance of administrative work comparable to that of a Senior Transportation Operations Supervisor, Public Utilities Commission.

Or

Pattern II
Five years of experience in a supervisory operating position equivalent to that of trainmaster, road supervisor of engines, or chief dispatcher with a Class I railroad operating under The Standard Code of Operating Rules or a combination of four years of such experience and one year in a supervisory position as an assistant mechanical superintendent of assistant division engineer. (College education with major work in transportation)

Or
Engineering May Be Substituted for Not More Than Two Years of: the required experience on the basis of two years of college work being equivalent to one year of experience.)

And

Education: Equivalent to completion of the twelfth grade. (Additional qualifying experience may be substituted for the required education on a year-for-year basis.)

This examination will consist of a Supplemental Questionnaire, Training and Experience Written Narrative, weighted 100%. The Training and Experience Written Narrative consists of job-related questions for which candidates must submit typed responses. A panel of subject matter experts will evaluate competitor responses to each question using job-related rating and scoring criteria.

The PUC reserves the right to modify the selection process as necessary to conform to administrative or business necessity.

This examination consists of the following component(s):

Components that are due with your application will be scored and will count toward your final examination result. Failure to submit these items may result in disqualification or elimination from the examination.

A final score of 70% must be attained to be placed on the eligible list.

PREPARING FOR THE EXAMINATION

Here is a list of suggested resources to have available prior to taking the exam.

Employment History: Employment dates, job titles, organization names and addresses, names of supervisors or persons who can verify your job responsibilities, and phone numbers of persons listed above.

Education: School names and addresses, degrees earned, dates attended, courses taken (verifiable on a transcript), persons or office who can verify education, and phone numbers of persons or offices listed above.

Training: Class titles, certifications received, names of persons who can verify your training, and phone numbers of persons listed above.

SUPERVISOR, OPERATIONS AND SAFETY SECTION, CPUC EXAMINATION

CLICK HERE to take the Supervisor, Operations and Safety Section, CPUC Examination

In addition to evaluating the applicant's relative knowledge, skill and ability as demonstrated by quality and breadth of education/experience, emphasis in each test component will be on measuring competitively, relative to job demands, each applicant's:

Knowledge of:

1. Sections of the Public Utilities Code and of the Commission's general orders relating to carrier operations.
2. Procedures used in the conduct of hearings by the Commission and other transportation regulatory bodies.
3. Federal and State laws relating to carrier operations and equipment maintenance methods.
4. Facilities and equipment used by carriers and their relationship to operating or safety standards.
5. Carrier operating and mechanical terminology.
6. Commission's Affirmative Action Program objectives.
7. A manager's role in the Affirmative Action Program and the processes available to meet affirmative action objectives.

Ability to:

1. Plan, conduct, or direct negotiations to improve operating methods and increase the safety of carrier operations and mediate controversial issues between carrier management and representatives of transportation employees.
2. Formulate and recommend new or revised operating and safety practices. 
3. Act as an expert witness in matters pertaining to carrier operations.
4. Direct and supervise the work of the staff of the section.
5. Write clear and concise reports.
6. Analyze situations accurately and take effective action.
7. Effectively contribute to the Commission's affirmative action objectives.

A Departmental Open eligible list for the SUPERVISOR, OPERATIONS AND SAFETY SECTION, PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION Classification will be established for:

• Public Utilities Commission

The names of successful competitors will be merged onto the eligible list(s) in order of final score regardless of test date. Eligibility expires 12 months after it is established. Applicants must then retake the examination to reestablish eligibility.

Veterans' Preference will be granted for this examination. Veterans' Preference is an assistance program for veterans, veteran widows and widowers, and spouses of 100% disabled veterans who seek employment with the state. Veterans' Preference is also extended to currently serving military members nearing their retirement or separation date.

You are not eligible for Veteran's Preference if you are:

• A veteran who has been dishonorably discharged or released.
• A veteran, widow or widower of a veteran, or spouse of a 100 percent disabled veteran who currently has permanent civil service status. (Permanent civil service status is the status of an employee who is lawfully retained in his/her position after completion of the applicable probationary period. This does not include limited term).

Veterans' Preference is codified in Government Code Sections 18973 – 18979.

Veteran status is verified by the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR). Directions to apply for Veterans' Preference are on the Veterans' Preference Application (Std. Form 1093), which is available at www.CalCareers.ca.gov, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Career Credits are not granted for examination(s) administered on an Open basis or a Promotional basis.

• Public Utilities Commission

Questions regarding this examination should be directed to:

California Relay Service: 1-800-735-2929 (TTY), 1-800-735-2922 (Voice). TTY is a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf, and is reachable only from phones equipped with a TTY Device.

Examination and/or Employment Application (STD 678) forms are available at the California Department of Human Resources, local offices of the Employment Development Department, and through your CalCareer Account (www.CalCareers.ca.gov).

If you meet the requirements stated on this examination bulletin, you may take this examination, which is competitive. Possession of the entrance requirements does not assure a place on the eligible list. Your performance in the examination described in this bulletin will be rated against a predetermined job-related rating, and all applicants who pass will be ranked according to their scores.

Public Utilities Commission reserves the right to revise the examination plan to better meet the needs of the service, if the circumstances under which this examination was planned change. Such revision will be in accordance with civil service laws and rules and all applicants will be notified.

General Qualifications: Applicants must possess essential personal qualifications including integrity, initiative, dependability, good judgment, the ability to work cooperatively with others, and a state of health consistent with the ability to perform the assigned duties of the class. A medical examination may be required. In open examinations, investigation may be made of employment records and personal history and fingerprinting may be required.

Eligible Lists: Eligible lists established by competitive examination, regardless of date, must be used in the following order: 1) sub-divisional promotional, 2) departmental promotional, 3) multi-departmental promotional, 4) service-wide promotional, 5) departmental open, 6) open. When there are two lists of the same kind, the older must be used first. Eligible lists will expire in one to four years unless otherwise stated on the bulletin.

High School Equivalence: Equivalence to completion of the 12th grade may be demonstrated in any one of the following ways: 1) passing the General Education Development (GED) Test; 2) completion of 12 semester units of college-level work; 3) certification from the State Department of Education, a local school board, or high school authorities that the competitor is considered to have education equivalent to graduation from high school; or 4) for clerical and accounting classes, substitution of business college work in place of high school on a year-for-year basis.

Accepted applicants must provide proof of identification at each in-person test session. Acceptable identification consists of a photo identification card or two forms of signed identification.