Civil Service Law

Published on: February 23, 2020

Civil Service Disciplinary Procedures at the Employer Level

Because the purpose of the New Jersey Civil Service System is to remove politics, nepotism and favoritism from the hiring and disciplinary disciplinary-1326277__340-300x300 processes to ensure that employment decisions are based on merit and fitness, just cause must be found for imposing discipline. And because the employer is the government, all discipline, New Jersey’s Court’s have explained, “is governed by principles of notice, due process and fundamental fairness.” The key to this is notice and the opportunity to be heard at a hearing.

Written Notice and the Opportunity for a Hearing Before Appointing Authority

Before disciplinary action may be taken against a permanent civil service employee or during an employee’s working test period, the employee must get written notice and the opportunity for a hearing on major discipline. This notice comes in the form of a “Preliminary Notice of Disciplinary Action” (“PNDA”). The PNDA must set forth the charges and give a specification. It must give the employee the opportunity for a hearing prior to major discipline. The PDNA should give the employee notice of all the charges and specifications against him so he can prepare a defense.

Published on: February 21, 2020

Effect of Criminal Charges on New Jersey Civil Service Employees

by Maurice W. McLaughlin

Criminal charges against public employees can have serious consequences under New Jersey civil service law. In this post, we’ll examine gavel-300x200 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 can be suspended while the charges are pending. The employee must be served with a preliminary notice of disciplinary action (PNDA). The PNDA must advise her that she may be subject to being fired if the charges are upheld, and that she has the right to consult with an attorney. The employee may request a hearing about the suspension. If no request is made within five days the appointing authority may issue a final notice of disciplinary action (FNDA). If the employee is charged with a third degree crime or higher, if she is charged with a crime of the fourth degree on the job, or if the charges are “directly related to the job,” the employee may be suspended indefinitely until the charges are resolved.

Published on: February 19, 2020

Selection And Appointment in New Jersey Civil Service

by Maurice W. McLaughlin

New Jersey Civil Service law establishes procedures for hiring and promoting government employees in New Jersey state and local statehousejpg-daf3a85399187d6b-300x200 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 review and approval of the New Jersey Civil Service Commission. The Commission will notify the employer of whether it has approved or disapproved the action, and the reasons for any disapproval. The employer then provides written notice to the affected employees.

Published on: September 19, 2019

McLaughlin & Nardi, LLC Awarded Equal Justice Medal

by McLaughlin & Nardi, LLC

The law firm of McLaughlin & Nardi, LLC, has been awarded the Equal Justice Medal by Legal Services of New Jersey for the Firm’s pro bono contributions to low income New Jersey residents.

While all of our attorneys do community service and pro bono legal services, Pauline Young by far does the most, and this award was mainly due to her. Pauline does a wide variety of pro bono work, but concentrates on providing services which help remove barriers to employment for prisoners reentering society after their terms of incarceration have ended, most often through engagement of their criminal records.

Pauline generally does her pro bono work through Legal Services of Legal Services of New Jersey and Volunteer Lawyers for Justice’s Reentry Legal Services program.

Published on: July 11, 2018

McLaughlin & Nardi’s Employment Attorneys Successfully Appeal Psychological Disqualification of Applicant for New Jersey Correction Officer Position.

by Maurice W. McLaughlin

New Jersey’s Civil Service System is designed so that government employees are hired based on their merit, not on nepotism, favoritism, cronyism, bribery or political connections. New Jersey’s Civil Service laws and regulations do this by setting up a system where candidates are tested and graded objectively against other applicants. They are then ranked according to their scores and other qualifications, and hired based on their rank. This testing and ranking system is administered by the New Jersey Civil Service Commission (formerly known as the Merit System Board).

One of the areas where merit is most critical is in the selection and hiring of law enforcement officers, given the vast powers and responsibilities our society places on their shoulders. As a result, the hiring process is significantly more intense than for the hiring of other civil service employees. In addition to a written test, there are also physical examinations and intense background screening.

All of these screening criteria can – and must be – objectively reviewed. However, one additional area of the law enforcement screening process can allow an examiner’s subjective bias to creep through into the testing results. This area is the psychological screening for candidates for New Jersey law enforcement jobs. Obviously this is a legitimate and important line of inquiry necessary before giving young men and women weapons and the power to arrest people. However, subjective biases can influence an examiner’s reading of the examination results. Continue reading