John Shukovsky, CSC Docket No. 2020-815

BackgroundJohn Shukovsky appeals the decision of the Division of Agency Services (Agency Services) which found that, per the substitution clause for education, he did not meet the experience requirements for the promotional examination for Network Adininistrator 2 (PS5083K), Woodbine Developmental Center.

The subject examination announcement was issued with a closing date of January 22, 2019. The examination was open to employees in the competitive division who had an aggregate of one year of continuous permanent service as of the closing date and who were serving in the title Network Administrator 1, OR in any competitive title and who met the announced requirements. These requirements included graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor's degree which must include a minimum of eighteen semester hour credits in mathematics and/or computer science, and four years of experience in the development, implementation, and maintenance of multi-network, multi-user Local Area Networks (LAN), Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN), and/or Wide Area Networks (WAN) environments. Evidence of formal training in Computer Science/Information Technology received at an accredited institution could be submitted with the application for evaluation by the Civil Service Commission for possible credit. Applicants who did not possess the Bachelor's degree but possessed the 18 seinester hour credits could substitute additional experience on a year-for- year basis with thirty semester hour credits being equal to one year of experience The appellant was found to be below the minimum requirements in experience, per the substitution clause for education. No candidates were admitted to the examination and the examination was canceled on September 20, 2019,

Appellant's argumentThe appellant indicated that he possessed 45 college credits, which prorates to one year, six months of experience. Of his credits, he meets the credit requirement of eighteen semester hour credits in mathematics and/or computer science. Per the substitution clause for education, the appellant was required to possess six years, six months of applicable experience. On his application and resume, the appellant listed experience in five positions, provisional Network Administrator 2, Supervisor IT Help Desk, Information Technology Specialist, Data Processing Programmer 3 and Communication Systems Tech. He received three months of credit in his provisional position and one year, seven months of credit in his Data Processing Programmer 3 position. Thus, he was found to be lacking four years, five months of experience, per the substitution clause for education.

On appeal, the appellant argues that he has accrued applicable experience, and he lists the examples of work from the job specification for Network Administrator 2 and the amount of time he has spent doing each, unrelated to any title. He also resubmits his duties for each position, and supplies a resume.

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.

AnalysisThe appellant was denied admittance to the subject examination since he lacked four years, five months of experience per the substitution clause for education. A review of appellant’s application reveals that this determination is correct. Before discussing the actual duties, it must be noted that the appellant indicates that he supervises seven professional staff, and his prior-held title was Supervisor IT Helpdesk. The title under test, for which the appellant has a provisional appointment, is not a supervisory title. Regardless of the actual duties involved, the appellant’s position is misclassified as a Network Administrator 2, as there would be an inappropriate reporting relationship if the appellant has supervisory responsibility and his title is in the Employee Relations Group (ERG) “P” (professional).

That issue aside, the appellant listed his duties as:

Developing applications includes: writing code for the user interface, designing databases and establishing data constraints to ensure uniform data collection and storage. Configure, troubleshoot and maintain availability of all applications: client applications, employee applications, file, printing and reporting services, file and web servers, pes, routers and switches. Configure, troubleshoot and maintain

Windows 2008/2012 environment services, including Active Directory,

DFS, WINS, DNS and DHCP. Configure, troubleshoot and maintain all network devices: installing software updates, service packs and patches to network operating systems and server based applications and monitoring the performance of server and network devices to ensure maximum performance and highest availability. Oversees the maintenance operations, improvements and expansions to the facility’s multi-user, multi-site IT infrastructure and uses independent judgment and initiative when making decisions regarding needs of the facility. Administers user access to network resources and services to ensure the highest level of network security and integrity. Develop, test and implement network disaster recovery plan and ensures daily backups are performed so that the facility's data for 265 clients and 1200 employees is collected and stored in an organized and secure manner. Supervises IT Department and the technicians within the unit who provide technical support to users regarding issues which are logged through the MIS Help Desk web application. Supervises the Communications team, who is responsible for all telecommunications, video communications, data transmission lines and monitors work through the MIS Help desk web application. Provides technical advice to Department heads, colleagues, subordinates and staff regarding their needs. Evaluate performance of subordinates and makes recommendations regarding promotions, demotions and disciplinary actions.

This description, while having a few related duties, does not have as the primarv focus the definition provided on the job specification for Network Administrator 2, which is

Under direction performs professional work, which includes development, implementation, and maintenance of multi-network, multi-user Local Area Networks (LAN); Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN); and/or Wide Area Networks (WAN); maintains centralized, decentralized, and remote network services; maintaims network security and data _ integrity; provides consultations and recommendations to infrastructure managers as required to troubleshoot and _ resolve network problems, monitor’ overall performance, and conduct upgrades as required; does other related duties.

The appellant’s description has very few network duties pertaining to routers and switches. Rather, the majority of duties pertain to servers on a network, database development and maintenance, software applications, backups, and supervision of a Helpdesk. The appellant provides some more network-related tasks on appeal, but they are mixed in with other tasks as well. Combined with the fact that Network Administrator 2 is not a supervisory title, the provisional position is misclassified and warrants a classification review. At this point, as the examination is cancelled for lack of admits, and the provisional appears to be misclassified, there is no point in further analysis of the appellant's emplovment history.

If the appointing authority wants the appellant to remain in his current position, the appellant should provide the enclosed duties questionnaire to Agency Services detailing the duties of the position, along with a completed examination application within 30 days of the issuance of this decision, so that an appropriate provisional title can be assigned and a pre-qualification determination can be made. Should the appellant be found not eligible for the new provisional appointment, he should be returned to his regular prior-held title at that time. In the future, if Agency Services determines that the position is that of Network Administrator 2, a new examination can be announced.

The appellant was denied admittance to the subject examination since he lacked the minimum requirements in experience per the substitution clause for education. An independent review of all material presented indicates that the decision of Agency Services that the appellant did not meet the announced requirements for eligibility by the closing date is ainply supported by the record. The appellant provides no basis to disturb this decision. Thus, the appellant has failed to support his burden of proof in this matter.

ORDER

Therefore, it is ordered that this appeal be denied. Further, the position should undergo a classification review to determine whether the position is properly classified.

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