Desiree Bonet, CSC Docket No. 2020-2690

Appellant's argumentDesiree Bonet requests that she be permitted to amend her application after the closing date for the Entry Level Law Enforcement Examination (S9999A). It is noted that appellant passed the subject examination with a final average of 96.040 and a rank of 3,475.

BackgroundBy way of background, the subject examination was announced on July 1, 2019 with a closing date of August 31, 2019. As noted in the 2019 Entry Law Enforcement Administration Guide (Guide), the 2019 announcement (S9999A) “consists of the following 10 titles: Police Officer (Municipal), County Police Officer, Park Police Officer, Campus Police Officer Recruit, Police Officer Recruit Human Services, Police Officer Palisades Interstate Park, Sheriff’s Officer, County Correction Officer, Correctional Police Officer and Correctional Police Officer Juvenile Justice.” As further noted in the Guide, “There are also bilingual variants for some of these titles, which will be noted in the announcement.”

Appellant's argumentOn appeal, Bonet contends that when she applied for the subject exam, she “checked off to be considered for all departments. I was under the impression that I was also applying for municipal police.” She asserts that upon contacting the Civil Service Commission, she was informed that she “had not checked off to be considered for that position.” In a subsequent submission, Bonet maintains that when she “first attempted to reach out to the civil service I was informed that I had applied for all departments but upon my second conversation with the certification department they told me I hadn’t selected municipal officer which is why I hadn’t submitted an appeal earlier. Perhaps it was an oversight on my part if I did not check off the box but if there is anything that can be done to add me to that eligibility list I would appreciate it as the position I originally desired when applying was a position as a municipal officer.”

CONCLUSION

RuleN.J.A.C. 4A:4-2.1(f) permits an applicant to amend a previously submitted application prior to the filing closing date. As noted previously, the announcement indicated that the closing date was August 31, 2019.

AnalysisAs noted on the subject announcement, candidates were required to file an online application. Candidates were instructed on the subject announcement, “Before proceeding, you MUST click here and read the 2019 Law Enforcement Examination Fact Sheet,” prior to accessing the online application. The 2019 Law Enforcement Examination Fact Sheet informed candidates, under the section, “LEE Title Areas,” provided, in part:

Applicants file only one application and indicate their interest in the title areas by checking the box(es) on the application. A $50 application processing fee is required for this announcement whether you check one or all title areas on your application. No title areas can be added after the closing date. Title areas you may select include the following:

1. Municipal Police Officer

County Police Officer

Park Police Officer

Campus Police Officer Recruit

Police Officer Recruit Human Services

Police Officer Palisades Interstate Park

2. Correctional Police Officer (Department of Corrections)

3. Sheriff’s Officer

4. County Correction Officer

5. Correctional Police Officer, Juvenile Justice Commission

In this regard, on the subject application, candidates were required to complete the following:

As indicated above, each title area on the application had a separate box next to it. Thus, if a candidate was interested in one title area, he or she would select the corresponding box; if interested in two title areas, he or she would select the two corresponding boxes; if interested in three title areas, he or she would select the three corresponding boxes; if interested in four title areas, he or she would select the four corresponding boxes; if interested in five title areas, he or she would select all five of the boxes. In this regard, Municipal Police Officer was clearly a separate title area and required candidates to select that box. Furthermore, prior to payment processing and submitting an application for the subject test, candidates were provided with the opportunity to review and print their applications. A printed copy of the appellant’s application shows the following:

As such, the Municipal Police Officer title clearly does not appear on her application.

ORDER

Therefore, it is ordered that this request be denied.

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