1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, if an appointing authority has a position available and the position is not required to be filled in another manner pursuant to this chapter, to assist persons with disabilities certified by the Rehabilitation Division of the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, the appointing authority shall, if possible, make a temporary limited appointment of a certified person with a disability for a period not to exceed 700 hours notwithstanding that the position so filled is a continuing position.

2. A person with a disability who is certified by the Rehabilitation Division must be placed on the appropriate list for which the person is eligible. Each such person must:

(a) Possess the training and skills necessary for the position for which the person is certified; and

(b) Be able to perform, with or without reasonable accommodation, the essential functions of that position.

3. The Rehabilitation Division must be notified of an appointing authority’s request for a list of eligibility on which the names of one or more certified persons with disabilities appear. A temporary limited appointment of a certified person with a disability pursuant to this section constitutes the person’s examination as required by NRS 284.215.

4. An appointing authority shall not make a temporary limited appointment of a certified person with a disability pursuant to this section in any circumstance that the appointing authority determines would create an actual or potential conflict of interest between the certified person with the disability and the agency of the Executive Department of the State Government in which the position exists. For the purposes of this subsection, the receipt of benefits by the certified person with the disability from the agency of the Executive Department of the State Government in which the position exists shall not be deemed to create an actual or potential conflict of interest between the certified person with the disability and the agency.

5. Each appointing authority shall ensure that there is at least one person on the staff of the appointing authority who has training concerning:

(a) Making a temporary limited appointment of a certified person with a disability pursuant to this section; and

(b) The unique challenges a person with a disability faces in the workplace.

6. The Commission shall adopt regulations to carry out the provisions of subsections 1 and 2.

7. This section does not deter or prevent appointing authorities from employing:

(a) A person with a disability if the person is available and eligible for permanent employment.

(b) A person with a disability who is employed pursuant to the provisions of subsection 1 in permanent employment if the person qualifies for permanent employment before the termination of the person’s temporary limited appointment.

8. If a person appointed pursuant to this section is subsequently appointed to a permanent position during or after the 700-hour period, the 700 hours or portion thereof counts toward the employee’s probationary period.

(Added to NRS by 1965, 675; A 1973, 139, 1406; 1983, 633; 1991, 158; 1993, 470, 1552; 1995, 522; 2003, 1443; 2017, 1016; 2019, 3020)