Michelle Smith, CSC Docket No. 2020-1071

BackgroundMichelle Smith appeals the determination of the Division of Agency Services (Agency Services) which found that she did not meet the experience requirements for the promotional examination for Secretarial Assistant 2 Non-Stenographic (PS9503H), Department of Health.

The subject examination announcement was issued with a closing date of April 22, 2019, and was open to employees in the competitive division who had an aggregate of one year of continuous permanent service in the title Secretarial Assistant 3 Non-Stenographic, OR to employees in the competitive division who had an aggregate of one year of continuous permanent service in any competitive title and met the announced requirements. These requirements included four years of experience in secretarial and administrative clerical work. Successful completion of a clerical training program with a minimum of 700 classroom training hours or 30 semester hour credits in secretarial science from an accredited college or university may be substituted for one year of the experience. It was found that appellant failed to satisfy the experience requirement. One candidate appears on the eligible list, which has not yet been certified.

The appellant listed five positions on her application and resume: provisional Secretarial Assistant 2 Non-Stenographic, two positions as Head Clerk, Principal Clerk Typist and Senior Clerk Typist. She was credited with five months of experience in her provisional position, and found to be lacking three years, seven months of applicable experience.

By way of background, in 2018 the appellant requested a classification review of her position as a Head Clerk, and requested an Administrative Assistant 3 classification. In a decision dated December 19, 2018, Agency Services found that the title Secretarial Assistant 2 Non-Stenographic properly classified the duties of the position. The appellant filed an appeal of that determination and the Civil Service Commission found, in In the Matter of Michelle Smith, Department of Health (CSC, decided May 9, 2019), that the position was properly classified as Secretarial Assistant 2 Non-Stenographic. The examination for her provisional position was announced in April 2019, results were mailed on September 18, 2019, and this appeal followed.

Appellant's argumentOn appeal, the appellant argues that the ineligibility determination is a direct conflict with the classification review determination. She provides lists of duties for her various positions, except that she includes the duties of both Head Clerk positions in one list. She also attaches a resume with additional duties. She concludes by stating that she has over thirty years of experience “coordinating, reviewing and/or evaluating the organization or administrative needs and recommending improved methods,” a requirement which she far exceeds.

CONCLUSION

RuleN.J.A.C. 4A:4-2.6(a) provides that applicants shall meet all requirements specified in the promotional examination announcement by the closing date. N.J.A.C. 4A:4-2.6(c) provides that except when permitted for good cause, applicants for promotional examinations may not use experience gained as a result of out-of- title work to satisfy eligibility requirements.

AnalysisThe appellant was deemed to be ineligible for the subject examination since she lacked the minimum experience in secretarial and administrative clerical work. She was credited for five months in her provisional position. It is noted that qualifying experience has the announced experience as the primary focus. The amount of time, and the importance of the duty, determines if it is the primary focus. An experience requirement that lists a number of duties which define the primary experience, requires that the applicants demonstrate that they primarily performed all of those duties for the required length of time. Performance of only one or some of the duties listed is not indicative of comprehensive experience. See In the Matter of Jeffrey Davis (MSB, decided March 14, 2007).

Administrative clerical work extends beyond basic tasks such as opening and sorting mail, recording messages, and routine manual or electronic document preparation. Administrative clerical work requires greater knowledge of a specialized content area. It involves the application of procedures and/or multiple processing steps to complete an assignment or transaction. Incumbents may be responsible for gathering requested data and use automated systems to update, store and retrieve or locate information, and can make determinations on the completeness and accuracy of documents, forms and other information. Administrative clerical work likely involves of a variety of related tasks to complete an assignment or transaction. It implies complete responsibility for the specific content area. Some examples are: processing tax liens, delegated executive correspondence, reviewing and processing applications for licenses, permits and other documents, updating account information, etc. In order to be accepted as secretarial and administrative clerical, duties performed must be complex and involve the frequent exercise of independent judgment. Also, secretarial work involves working for an executive, including scheduling appointments, giving information to callers, reading and routing incoming mail, locating files, typing, filing, greeting visitors and conducting them to the executive or appropriate person, arranging travel schedules, placing outgoing calls, recording minutes of staff meetings, making copies of printed matter, and preparing outgoing mail. See In the Matter of Rosemarie Baylies (MSB, decided April 6, 2005).

In this case, in her first position as a Head Clerk, from November 2012 to December 2018, the appellant indicated that she did not supervise staff, and she provided the following list of duties. She prepared correspondence and technical documents; maintained personnel files; updated organizational charts and reviewed exemption packages: prepared documents for employees; was the personnel liaison health benefits, payroll, tax forms, ECATS, and PARs; distributed documents and correspondence; collected and processed mileage reports, ensured that vehicle credentials were up to date, insured vehicles were cleaned and refueled, and processed accident paperwork; maintained the tracking system and kept daily logs; processed purchase orders and travel vouchers; used the requisition tracking system; and recorded mail and provided telephone coverage. Her duties in the second position as Head Clerk, from April 2000 to November 2012, had similar duties, except that she was also supervising two support staff. Agency Services stated in its determination of December 18, 2018 that, “positions that perform elementary personnel activities (time and attendance reporting and preparing personnel requisitions) and elementary fiscal activities (processing purchase orders, processing transfers and forms, processing travel reimbursements) are not Administrative Assistants and are secretarial in nature.”

On her application, the appellant indicated that as a Principal Clerk Typist, from June 1988 to April 2000, the appellant supervised two support staff, and did other administrative clerical duties. No secretarial duties were indicated. On appeal, the appellant adds additional duties for this position which include some secretarial duties. Nevertheless, most of the tasks were administrative clerical in nature, and it does not appear that the appellant was misclassified at that time. Her duties as a Senior Clerk Typist were clerical, not administrative clerical, and are inapplicable.

Based on Agency Services’ description of duties for the appellant’s specific position, her experience as a Head Clerk is acceptable. The subject examination is noncompetitive, with one eligible on the list, and the appellant is still serving in her provisional position. In sum, under these circumstances, good cause exists to accept the appellant’s out-of-title work experience to satisfy the requirements for the Secretarial Assistant 2 Non-Stenographic examination. This decision shall not be used as precedent in any other matter.

ORDER

Therefore, it is ordered that this appeal be granted, and the appellant be admitted to the examination.

ClosingThis is the final administrative determination in this matter. Any further review should be pursued in a judicial forum.