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State Payroll

Civil Service Commission

281 employees · NJ state government agency

Civil Service Commission is a substantial state agency, employing 281 people statewide.

The most common title is Human Resource Consultant 2 (9% of staff), followed by Senior Executive Service and Human Resource Consultant 1. Median pay is $92,711, about 10% above the statewide median.

Median tenure is 10.3 years. CWA represents the largest share of its unionized workforce (about 24%).

About Civil Service Commission

The Civil Service Commission administers Title 11A, the law that governs merit hiring in New Jersey. It writes and scores the examinations, certifies eligible lists, maintains the classification plan that defines every job title on this site, and hears appeals from employees and applicants.

The roster is a direct read of that mandate. Human resource consultants at five graded levels are the largest group, handling classification, appointment and personnel policy work for other agencies. Test development specialists build the examinations. The agency has an unusually high share of confidential and exempt salary codes for its size, because much of its work touches appeals and personnel records. If you have taken a New Jersey civil service exam, the people who wrote and scored it are on this payroll.

Who works here

These are the titles that carry the most people on this payroll. Each one links to its civil service specification, which sets out the duties, the minimum requirements and the salary range.

51 further titles appear on this agency's payroll, 63 in all. Senior Executive Service is a catch-all title used for very different jobs across agencies, so the median pay shown against it covers a wide mix of roles and does not describe a single position.

Titles you will not find elsewhere

12 of this agency's titles are concentrated here rather than shared across departments, and for 12 of them every single position in the state sits on this payroll.

Concentration is measured against the same payroll file, comparing this agency's headcount in a title with the statewide headcount in that title.

How pay is spread

Below are the quartile boundaries for this agency's salaries, with the statewide equivalents alongside them for reference.

The middle half of this agency's employees earn between $72,830 and $127,826, a ratio of 1.76 between the two quartiles. That is about the same spread as state government as a whole (1.80).

  • Lowest recorded salary$38,027
  • Lower quartile$72,830
    statewide $62,428
  • Median salary$92,711
    statewide $84,548
  • Upper quartile$127,826
    statewide $112,646
  • Highest recorded salary$210,000

Based on 269 salaried records.

Union representation

Which contract covers a job decides its salary schedule, its step ladder and its grievance route. This is the union mix on this payroll.

  • CWA68 employees
    24.2% of the agency
  • IFPTE6 employees
    2.1% of the agency

Union coverage is identifiable for 26% of this agency's payroll records. The remainder are unclassified, exempt or managerial positions that sit outside a bargaining unit.

How long people stay

Tenure tells you something a salary table cannot: whether this is a place people arrive at or a place they stay.

Half of this agency's employees have been on the state payroll longer than 10.3 years, against a statewide median of 9.6. 27% joined within the last five years, and 32% have twenty years or more behind them.

  • Under 5 years76 employees
    27.4% of those with a hire date
  • 5 to 10 years60 employees
    21.7% of those with a hire date
  • 10 to 15 years43 employees
    15.5% of those with a hire date
  • 15 to 20 years8 employees
    2.9% of those with a hire date
  • 20 to 25 years49 employees
    17.7% of those with a hire date
  • 25 years or more41 employees
    14.8% of those with a hire date

Hire dates are present for 277 of this agency's 281 payroll records.

Overtime

46 employees here recorded overtime, 16.4% of the agency, against 29.6% across state government. Little overtime usually means salaried professional work with no shift to fill.

Together they were paid $46,905 in overtime, averaging $1,020 for each employee who earned any. Overtime is not part of the salary figures elsewhere on this page, which report base pay.

  • Employees with recorded overtime46
  • Share of the agency16.4%
  • Total overtime paid$46,905
  • Average per employee earning it$1,020

Civil service coverage

90% of this agency's payroll records carry a title that matches a published civil service specification. That is a high match rate, and it means the hiring routes described elsewhere on this site apply to most jobs here: an announced examination, an eligible list, and appointment from that list.

  • Records matched to a specification253
  • Records with no matching specification28
  • Distinct civil service titles on the roster63

Where it sits among state agencies

By headcount this is the 23rd largest of the 39 payroll lines in New Jersey state government, holding 0.4% of the state workforce.

Its nearest neighbours by headcount, for readers who want a like-for-like comparison.