Adopted: November 5, 2015 by t he Ci vil Ser vice Commi ssi on, Rober t M.

Transcription

1 CIVIL SERVICE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION Violations and Penalties Proposed Readoption with Amendments: N.J.A.C. 4A:10 Pr oposed: July 6, 2015 at 47 N.J.R. 1377(a). Adopted: November 5, 2015 by t he Ci vil Ser vice Commi ssi on, Rober t M. Czech, Chairper son. Filed: N ovember 5, 2015 as d., without change. Authority: N.J.S.A. 11A:2-6, 11A:2-11.e, 11A:2-23, 11A:4-5, 11A:10-1 through 10-5, and 11A:11-2; P.L. 2008, c. 29; and 5 U.S.C et seq. Effect i ve Dat e: N ovember 5, 2015 Expi r at i on Dat e: N ovember 5, 2022 Summary of H ear i ng Officer Recommendat i ons and Agency Responses: A public hearing on this r eadopt i on wit h amendments was hel d on August 19, 2015 i n Trenton, N ew Jer sey. Walker Ristau ser ved as hear i ng

2 2 officer. N o comment s wer e r ecei ved on t he readopt i on wi t h amendments at that time, and no r ecommendat i ons wer e made by t he hear i ng officer. N o wri t t en comments wer e r ecei ved. The r ecor d of t he publ i c hear i ng may be r eviewed by contact ing H enry M aurer, Di r ect or, Di visi on of Appeals and Regul at ory Affairs, Civil Service Commission, P.O. Box 312, Trenton, New Jersey Feder al St andar ds St at ement Wit h t he except i on of N.J.A.C. 4A:10-1.2(b), whi ch concer ns t he H at ch Act (5 U.S.C et seq.), N.J.A.C. 4A:10 is not subject to any Federal r equi r ements or st andar ds. The pr oposed amendment t o N.J.A.C. 4A:10-1.2(b) woul d meet, but not exceed, Federal standards established by the Hatch Act with respect to the pol i t i cal act i vi t y of publ i c officer s and empl oyees i n t he St at e of N ew Jer sey wher e Feder al moni es ar e i mpl i cat ed. The H at ch Act, as amended by Pub. L , pr ohi bi t s cer t ai n t ypes of pol i t i cal act i vi t y wher e t he officer or empl oyee s empl oyment has been financed at l east i n par t by Feder al gr ants or l oans. Al so, wher e t he i ndi vi dual s empl oyment i s compl et el y funded by Feder al moni es, t hat indi vidual may not r un for publ i c office, unless he or she i s a Gover nor, L i eutenant Gover nor, mayor of a ci t y, a dul y el ect ed head of a St at e or muni ci pal executi ve depar t ment not fal li ng under t he N ew Jer sey Ci vil Ser vice syst em, or ot her per son hol di ng el ect i ve office. The pr oposed

3 3 amendment to N.J.A.C. 4A: would compl y wi t h t hese Feder al st andar ds but not go beyond t hem. Addi t i onal ly, t he pr oposed change t o N.J.A.C. 4A:10-1.2(c), which woul d si mpl y cor r ect a r efer ence t o t he name of a Feder al agency, i s not subject t o Feder al st andar ds. Finally, the ot her pr oposed technical amendments to N.J.A.C. 4A:10 woul d ensure t hat al l user s of t he r ul es ar e awar e of t he cur r ent name of t hi s agency and i t s st at utor y power s and t he curr ent t i t l e and st at ut or y power s of t he Chai r per son of t he Ci vil Ser vice Commissi on, and ar e not subject t o any Feder al st andar ds or r equi r ements. Accor di ngl y, a Feder al st andar ds anal ysi s is not necessar y. Full text of t he r ul es pr oposed for r eadopt i on may be found i n t he N ew Jer sey Admi ni st r at i ve Code at N.J.A.C. 4A:10. Full text of t he pr oposed amendments follows (additions indicated in boldface thus; deletions indicated in brackets [thus]):

4 4 SUBCHAPTER 1. VIOLATI ONS 4A: Political activity (a) N o empl oyee i n t he car eer or seni or executi ve ser vice shal l di r ect l y or i ndi r ect l y use or seek t o use hi s or her posi t i on t o contr ol or affect t he pol i t i cal act i on of anot her per son or engage i n poli t i cal activity during working hours. See N.J.S.A. 11A:2-23. (b) N o empl oyee i n t he car eer, seni or executi ve, or unclassi fied ser vices whose principal employment is in connection with a program financed in whole or in part by Federal [funds] gr ants or l oans, shal l engage i n any of t he fol l owi ng prohibited activities under the Hatch Act ( 5 U.S.C et seq.): [1. Be a candi dat e for publ i c office i n a par t isan el ect i on. This pr ovisi on does not appl y t o t he Gover nor, t he mayor of a ci t y, t he el ect ed head of an executi ve depar t ment or an i ndi vidual hol di ng el ect ive office, wher e t hat office i s t he sol e employment connect i on t o feder al l y funded pr ogr ams; 2. U se offici al author it y or i nfluence t hat inter fer es wi t h or affect s t he r esul t s of an el ect i on or a nomi nat i on for office; or 3. Dir ect l y or i ndi r ect l y coer ce contr i buti ons from subor di nat es in support of a political party or candidate.] 1. Use official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election or nomination for office;

5 5 2. Directly or indirectly coerce, attempt to coerce, command, or advise a State, county, or municipal officer or employee to pay, lend, or contr ibute anything of value to a party, committee, or ganization, agency, or per son for political pur poses; or 3. Be a candidate for elective office, if the salary of the employee is paid completely, directly or indirectly, by Federal grants or loans, except that this prohibition shall not apply to: i. The Governor or Lieutenant Governor or an individual authorized by law to act as Governor; ii. The mayor of a city; iii. A duly elected head of an executive department of the State or a municipality, which office does not fall under the Civil Service Act at Title 11A, New Jersey Statutes; or iv. An individual holding elective office. (c) The office of t he Speci al Counsel of t he U ni t ed St at es M er i t Syst ems Pr ot ect i on Boar d has r esponsi bi li t y for t he i nvest i gat i on of H at ch Act matters. SUBCHAPTER 2. ENFORCEMENT 4A: Gener al pr ovisi ons (a) Wher e t her e i s evi dence of a viol at i on of or noncompl i ance wi t h Ti t l e 11A, N ew Jer sey St at utes, or Ti t l e 4A, N.J.A.C., t he [Depar t ment of Per sonnel,

6 6 Commi ssi oner or Boar d] Civil Service Commission shall conduct an i nvest i gat or y hear i ng or ot her r eview, as appr opr i at e. I f a violat i on or noncompl i ance i s found, t he [Commi ssi oner or Boar d] Commission may: 1. I ssue an or der of compl i ance; 2. Assess cost s, char ges, and fines not t o exceed $10,000; 3. Or der t he appoi ntment of an eli gibl e from an outst andi ng l i st ; 4. I n Stat e ser vice, consol i dat e per sonnel funct i ons; 5. Initiate a civil action in the Superior Court; 6. Recommend cr i mi nal pr osecuti on; or 7. Take ot her appr opr i at e act i on pursuant t o l aw or r ul e. (b) See N.J.A.C. 4A: and 3.2 for salary disapproval procedur es. 4A: Fail ure t o appoi nt from compl et e cer t i ficat i on (a) When t he exami nat i on pr ocess has been i ni t i at ed due t o t he appoi ntment of a pr ovisi onal or at an appoi nti ng aut hor i t y's r equest, t he appoi nti ng authority shall make an appointment from a resul t i ng compl et e cer t i ficat i on. 1. When an appointing authority has notified the [Department of Per sonnel ] Chairperson or designee, ei t her by t he dat e of t he examinat i on or within 30 days after the initial date of the examination announcement, whi chever dat e i s ear l i er, t hat i t has vacat ed t he posi t i on and t er mi nat ed t he pr ovisi onal appoi ntee, t he [Commi ssi oner ] Chair per son or designee may cancel t he exami nat i on, per mi t t he appoi nti ng author i t y not t o make a

7 7 per manent appoi ntment, or t ake ot her appr opr i at e act i on. 2. Fol l owi ng t he per i od set for t h i n (a)1 above, an appoi nti ng author i t y may, for vali d r easons such as fiscal const r ai nts, pet i t i on t he [Commi ssi oner ] Commission for per mi ssi on not t o make a per manent appoi ntment. The [Commi ssi oner ] Commission may grant such petition, but may order the appoi nti ng author i t y t o r ei mburse t he [Depar t ment] Commi ssion for t he cost s of t he sel ect i on pr ocess, pr ovided, however, t hat when t he juri sdi ct i on i n which the appointing authority is situated has agreed to the inter gover nmental t r ansfer pursuant t o N.J.A.C. 4A:4-7.1A of an empl oyee i nto a t i t l e for whi ch an open compet i t i ve or pr omot i onal list exist s, t he appoi nti ng author i t y may pet i t i on t he [Commi ssi oner ] Commission for a wai ver of t he cost s of t he sel ect i on pr ocess. The [Commi ssi oner ] Commission shall notify the appointing authority of the amount of the reimbursement and pr ovide an oppor t unit y t o r espond t o t he assessment wi t hi n 20 days of such not i ce. (b) In addition to the actions which the [Commissioner] Commission may t ake i n (a) above, t he [Commi ssi oner or Boar d] Commission may take any action set forth in N.J.A.C. 4A: Prior to any such action being taken, the appointing authority shall be given notice and an opportunity to respond. 4A: Enforcement act i on

8 8 The [Commi ssi oner, t he Boar d,] Commission or any r esi dent or ot her par t y i n i nter est may br i ng an act i on i n t he Super i or Court for t he enfor cement of Ti t l e 11A, N ew Jer sey St at utes, Ti t l e 4A, N.J.A.C., or an or der of t he [Commi ssi oner or t he Boar d] Chair per son or the Commission. The [Commi ssi oner ] Commission may join in any pending action. 4A: Criminal violation I t i s a cr i me of t he fourt h degr ee for any per son t o purposeful l y or knowi ngl y violat e or conspi r e t o violat e any pr ovisi on of Ti t l e 11A, N ew Jer sey St at utes, Ti t l e 4A, N.J.A.C., or an or der of t he [Commi ssi oner or Boar d] Chairperson or Commission. SUBCHAPTER 3. SALARY DISAPPROVAL 4A: Gener al pr ovisi ons (a) The [Commi ssi oner, t he Boar d or an author i zed r epr esentat i ve of t he Depar t ment of Per sonnel ] Chairperson of the Civil Service Commission or designee, or the Commission, may disapprove and order the payment st opped of t he sal ar i es of any per son empl oyed i n viol at i on of Ti t l e 11A, N ew Jersey Statutes, Title 4A, N.J.A.C., or an or der of t he [Commi ssi oner or Boar d] Chair per son or Commission, the individual with employment author i t y over such per son, and t he per son who author i zes payment of a disapproved salary.

9 9 (b) A not i ce of sal ar y di sappr oval shal l be gi ven t o t he appoi nting authority, t he affect ed empl oyee, and ot her per sons whose sal ar i es ar e t o be disapproved. 1. The not i ce shall st at e t he nat ure of t he violat i on and pr ovide t he appoi nti ng author i t y, t he affect ed empl oyee, and ot her affect ed per sons 10 days t o r espond t o t he not i ce of sal ar y di sappr oval. 2. A r eview confer ence may al so be hel d at a t i me and l ocat i on speci fied by t he [Depar t ment of Per sonnel ] Chair person or designee. (c) I f t he i ssue whi ch r equi r ed t he not i ce of sal ar y di sappr oval has not been r esol ved, a salary disapproval order shall be issued. 1. The or der shal l st at e t he nat ure of t he viol at i on and r equi r e payment st opped t o t he affect ed empl oyee. 2. The or der may al so r equi r e payment st opped t o t he i ndi vi dual wi t h empl oyment author i t y over such empl oyee and t he per son who author i zed payment of t he di sappr oved sal ar y. 3. The or der shal l be mai l ed t o t he appoi nti ng author i t y, t he affect ed empl oyee, t he per sons whose sal ar i es have been di sappr oved, and in State ser vice, t he Depar t ment of t he Treasury. 4. The appoi nti ng aut hor i t y, t he affect ed empl oyee, and ot her per sons whose sal ar i es have been di sappr oved may appeal t he or der t o t he [Merit Syst em Boar d] Civil Service Commission wit hi n 20 days of recei pt of t he order. See N.J.A.C. 4A:2-1[.1 et seq.], for appeal pr ocedur es.

10 10 5. I f t he viol at i on has not been cor r ect ed and no appeal has been t i mel y fil ed, t he mat t er shall be r efer r ed t o t he [Boar d] Commission for r eview and any appropriate action pursuant to law or rule. 4A: Penal t i es and r emedi es (a) I n sal ar y di sappr oval mat t er s, t he [Commi ssi oner or t he Boar d] Commission may: 1. Di sappr ove t he payment of sal ar y t o an empl oyee hi r ed i n viol at i on of Ti t l e 11A, N ew Jer sey St at utes, and Tit le 4A, N.J.A.C.; 2. Disappr ove t he payment of salar y t o per sons who have appr oved or conti nued t he payment of a di sappr oved sal ar y or per sons who have empl oyment author i t y over an empl oyee whose sal ar y has been di sappr oved; 3. Or der t he appoi ntment of an el i gibl e from an outst andi ng certification; 4. Revive an empl oyment list; 5. Assess cost s, char ges, or fines pursuant to N.J.S.A. 11A:10-3; 6. Initiate a civil action in the Superior Court; and 7. Take ot her appr opr i at e act i ons pursuant t o l aw or r ul e.