Candidate eliminated from pre-screening stage despite having the required qualifications

Authority

The review of the request for investigation was conducted pursuant to section 66 of the Public Service Employment Act (S.C. 2003, c. 22, ss. 12, 13).

Issue

The review aimed to determine whether an investigation was warranted to examine a candidate’s concern that they had been eliminated from the pre-screening stage while they believed to have shown that they met the required essential qualifications.

Facts

In their request for an investigation, the candidate indicated they had clearly answered the pre-screening questions by providing concrete examples of previous experience to demonstrate that they met the essential experience qualifications; they believe that they were wrongly eliminated from the process.

The organization provided documentation and information explaining why the candidate was eliminated. In short, the assessment board found that the candidate did not meet an experience qualification, as the examples provided did not fully demonstrate that they had this qualification. A review of the information obtained revealed that the candidate did appear to have provided concrete examples of their tasks, projects and achievements in the context of a previous job. It was therefore unclear why the candidate had been eliminated. Following the request for information from the Investigations Directorate about the candidate’s application, the assessment board reviewed the candidate’s application and determined that they met the qualifications assessed at screening; the candidate was therefore reinstated in the process.

The decision to investigate is a discretionary one, and is made on a case-by-case basis, in accordance with the Guidelines on Considerations for Public Service Commission of Canada Investigations Conducted under Sections 66, 67(1), 68 or 69 of the Public Service Employment Act. The file can sometimes be resolved informally, without an investigation, if the organization concerned can resolve the irregularity and is willing to do so.

Jurisdiction decision

The Commission was satisfied with the organization’s steps to resolve the irregularity detected during the review of the request for investigation and decided that an investigation was not warranted.

File Number: 23-24-11

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