(a) The Secretary shall adopt guidelines for the recruitment and selection of contractual employees.
(b) These guidelines shall require a contracting unit:
(1) to make a reasonable effort to publicly solicit applicants for contractual employment;
(2) to make a reasonable effort to screen and select contractual employees by using methods and criteria that are uniformly applied to all applicants for a particular instance of contractual employment; and
(3) to use criteria to select contractual employees that:
(i) are based on the qualifications of the applicant; and
(ii) conform to subsection (c) of this section.
(c) (1) All personnel actions concerning a contractual employee shall be made in accordance with § 2-302 of this article.
(2) An action may be taken with regard to age, sex, or disability to the extent that age, sex, or disability involves a bona fide occupational qualification.
(d) To the extent feasible, a unit shall conduct the recruitment and selection of contractual employees according to the guidelines adopted under this section.