1370                               LAWS OF MARYLAND                         [CH. 636

of Personnel. No employee may be permanently removed except
for cause and after an opportunity to be heard in his own defense.
Should the discharged employee desire, he may appeal his case to
the State Commissioner of Personnel, whose decision shall be final.
No employees shall be removed from the classified service because of
religious or political opinions or affiliations.

249H.

An employee in a position to be abolished, discontinued, or vacated,
because of change in departmental organization, or through stop-
page or lack of work, shall be laid off and his name placed on the
eligible list for the class of position from which he is laid off, and
he shall be re-employed in preference to any eligible person not
an employee of the District on or after June 1, 1963, should a vacancy
occur in his classified position. The District for disciplinary purposes
may suspend an employee for not over thirty days. Each suspension
shall be without pay; provided, however, that no employee
shall be suspended for such disciplinary purposes over thirty days
in any calendar year.

249-I.

Every classified employee shall receive as vacation in each calendar
year a leave of absence with pay of one and one-half working days
for every month actually worked during the preceding year. In addi-
tion to such annual leave any employee shall be entitled to sick leave
with pay for not in excess of fifteen working days in any calendar
year; provided, however, that if any employee in any calendar year
uses less than the full amount of sick leave allowable, such unused
leave shall be accumulative up to sixty working days and shall be
available to such employee for sick leave at any time. Any employee
using three or more consecutive days' sick leave shall present a cer-
tificate from a duly licensed physician before receiving any pay for
the period of such absence. The District, by rule, may provide for
granting leaves of absence for longer periods with pay or with part
pay to employees who may be disabled either through injury or illness
as a result of or arising from their respective employment, and shall
make such rules as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of
this section. Any unused leave accumulated by any of the employees
of the District at the time of the passage of this Act shall be credited
to their respective leave records.

249J.

All employees of the District as of June 1, 1963, shall be included
in the classified service or Merit System established by this subtitle,
without examination.

249K.

Nothing in this subtitle prohibits the District from employing
such consulting or other outside engineering services as it deems
necessary from time to time.

249L.

Except in the case of temporary and emergency employees as
herein provided for, no auditor or disbursing officer of the said