A main goal of the New Jersey Civil Service Act is to ensure that employment decisions are based on merit and fitness, and therefore to prevent discrimination, political cronyism, corruption and nepotism from being a consideration. Thus, the Legislature has given civil service employees the ability to appeal most employer…
Qualified candidates for permanent, career, classified New Jersey Civil Service employment who meet the Civil Service definition are eligible to receive a veterans and disabled veterans preference, which increases their ranks on eligible lists. The courts have explained that the purpose of the preference is to “reward those whose military…
Collectively, New Jersey state and local governments are the largest employer in the State. Most of these jurisdictions are governed by the New Jersey Civil Service Act. In New Jersey Civil Service jurisdictions, hiring, firing, promotion and discipline is governed by the Civil Service Act and Regulations. This makes the…
The key to New Jersey Civil Service hiring and promotion is the examination. The State Constitution and New Jersey Civil Service Act require merit-based appointments based, whenever possible, on examinations. Announcements. The New Jersey Civil Service Commission is responsible for administrating examinations which fairly test applicants’ knowledge, skills and abilities…
Criminal charges against public employees can have serious consequences under New Jersey civil service law. In this post, we’ll examine some of those consequences. Suspensions of New Jersey Civil Service Employees While Criminal Charges Are Pending First, if a New Jersey civil service employee is facing criminal charges, she…
New Jersey Civil Service law establishes procedures for hiring and promoting government employees in New Jersey state and local government civil service jurisdictions. Appointments In Civil Service, “appointment” means getting a job, whether through initial hiring, promotion, transfer or otherwise. All initial and subsequent appointments must be submitted for…
How a New Jersey public employment position is classified can have enormous effects on an employee’s rights. This blog describes some of the details about how the New Jersey Civil Service Commission classifies New Jersey Civil Service jobs, and what the consequences of those classifications are. Some terms Under…
In an important decision interpreting New Jersey employment law, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Melnyk versus the Delsea Regional High School District that analyzing whether a position is eligible for tenure protection depends on the statutory requirements, not on how the employer chooses to label it. Paula…
Discipline is a major component of New Jersey’s Civil Service system. Discipline under New Jersey Civil Service law is either “major” or “minor.” Major Discipline The main procedural consequence of the difference major discipline and minor discipline is that major discipline can be appealed to the New Jersey Civil…
No discussion of New Jersey employment law would be complete without New Jersey’s Civil Service System, which governs all state government employees, and employees of twenty of New Jersey’s twenty-one counties, and the majority of its municipalities. As far back as 1961, the Appellate Division gave a cogent summary of…