Joseph Loscalzo, CSC Docket No. 2022-1512

Appellant's argumentJoseph Loscalzo requests that he be permitted to submit an application for the promotional examination for Sheriff’s Officer Sergeant (PC4986C), Gloucester County, after the application filing deadline.

BackgroundBy way of background, the announcement for the subject examination issued on November 1, 2021 with a November 22, 2021 closing date and all applications had to have been received by 4:00 p.m. on that date. The subject announcement, in the “Important Information” section, informed candidates:

If you are having difficulty submitting your application on-line, technical support and customer care are available during regular business hours, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. EST, Monday-Friday, excluding holidays and emergency closings. Please email:

OAS.support@csc.state.nj.us or call (609)292-4144. Please note that application support requests received outside of regular business hours on the closing date will not change the application filing deadline, so please file early.

It is noted that the subject examination is tentatively scheduled to be administered in May 2022.

Appellant's argumentOn appeal, Loscalzo presents that he “attempted to register numer[o]us times and was unable to log in. I sent several e-mails explaining and asking for log in help, each time I received return e-mail saying it was sent to an old e-mail address I had several years ago which was [*****]@aol.com.1 My e-mail address is [*****]@gmail.com. I never received any information to that e-mail. I also called several times to try and get assistance and was unsuccessful in getting any help. I was out of work on FMLA leave . . . and did not receiv[e] the information of the sergeant’s exam until mid-November.” Loscalzo maintains that when he “was finally able to get a representative on the phone and was able to get my log in information,” he “was informed that I had missed the cut off date.”

CONCLUSION

RuleN.J.A.C. 4A:4-2.6(a)4 provides that applicants for promotional examinations shall submit an application on or before the announced application filing date. N.J.A.C. 4A:4-2.1(e) provides, in part, that applications for promotional examinations shall be submitted no later than 4:00 p.m. on the announced application filing date. N.J.A.C. 4A:1-1.2(c) provides that a rule may be relaxed for good cause shown in a particular situation.

AnalysisThe OAS support unit was contacted regarding this matter and provided available email correspondence with the appellant. In this regard, on November 3, 2021, it appears that the appellant used the “Contact Us”3 form to contact OAS support and indicated his gmail.com address with the following message: “I do not remember my user name and password and I am trying to register for the sergeants exam.” In response, in an email sent on November 4, 2021 to the appellant’s

1 A review of the record finds that the appellant used the aol.com email address when he filed an application in 2015.

2It is noted that the username portion of the email addresses for the appellant’s aol.com and gmail.com accounts are identical.

3 The OAS “Contact Us” form:

gmail.com address, OAS support indicated, “Please return to the login screen4 through your announcement and click on ‘Forgot your password?’, then enter your username – [*****] (case sensitive) – and email address.5 You will receive an email containing a link to reset your password. Click on the link and enter the answer to your security question – [*****] (case sensitive). You will then be able to reset your password.”6 On November 17, 2021, the appellant sent an email from his work email address to OAS support and indicated, “I need a new password, I am not sure if I’m registered or not.” OAS support responded by email on the same day, “The email address [*****]@aol.com was used to create your user profile; should it be

4 The OAS login screen provides the following:

5 After clicking on the “Forgot your Password?,” the following screen appears:

As noted in the OAS User Guide (https://www.state.nj.us/csc/seekers/jobs/pdf/ Online_Application_System_User_Guide.pdf), “If you are a returning user and cannot remember your User ID or Password, click on the ‘Forgot your User ID or Password?’ link. Be sure to use the same email address you used when you established your user account.”

6 It is noted that an identical reply from OAS was emailed to the appellant on November 5, 2021.

updated to [the appellant’s work email address]? However, if there’s no need for a change, please return to the online application system login screen through your announcement and click on ‘Forgot your password?’, then enter your username – [*****] (case sensitive) and email address. You will receive an email to [*****]@aol.com containing a link to reset your password. Once received, click on the link and enter the answer to your security question – [*****] (case sensitive). You will then be able to reset your password.” On November 21, 2021,7 the appellant contacted OAS support using his gmail.com address and indicated, “I do not have the email [*****]@aol.com. I stopped using AOL years ago. Please send my information to [*****]@gmail.com.” In response, sent on November 22, 2021 at 3:01 p.m., OAS support indicated, “Your email address in our system is: [*****]@gmail.com. Please return to the online application system login screen through your announcement and click on ‘Forgot your password?’, then enter your username – [*****] (case sensitive) - and email address. You will receive an email containing a link to reset your password. Once received, click on the link and enter the answer to your security question – [*****] (case sensitive). You will then be able to reset your password.”

In the present matter, the appellant contacted OAS support prior to the application filing deadline in anticipation of remedying the login issue. As noted previously, the appellant’s email usernames for aol.com and gmail.com are identical. Thus, in the appellant’s initial contact on November 3, 2021, the underlying issue, i.e., the appellant no longer used the email address he initially registered with, was not readily apparent and not addressed at that time. In the November 17, 2021 exchange, the email address the appellant used to contact OAS was clearly different from his registered email and as such, OAS support alerted the appellant that the aol.com email address was used to create his account and that the link to reset his password would be sent to that email address. However, only shortly before the application filing deadline at 4:00 p.m. on November 22, 2021, was the appellant sent an email from OAS support indicating that his email address had been updated to [*****]@gmail.com.

The Commission notes that the dual purpose of the Civil Service system is to ensure efficient public service for State and local governments and to provide appointment and advancement opportunities to Civil Service employees based on their merit and abilities. These interests are best served when more, rather than fewer, individuals are presented with employment opportunities. See Communications Workers of America v. New Jersey Department of Personnel, 154 N.J. 121 (1998). Given this, good cause exists to relax the provisions of N.J.A.C. 4A:4-2.6(a)4 and allow the appellant to file an application after the application deadline for Sheriff’s Officer Sergeant (PC4986C), Gloucester County. This remedy

7It is noted that November 21, 2021 was a Sunday and thus, outside of OAS support’s regular business hours.

is limited to the facts of this matter and may not be used as precedent for any other proceeding.

ORDER

Therefore, it is ordered that this request be granted and the appellant be permitted to submit an application for Sheriff’s Officer Sergeant (PC4986C), Gloucester County. It is also ordered that the appellant submit a promotional examination application and the $50.00 application processing fee to the Division of Agency Services. The application and processing fee must be postmarked no later than 15 days from the issuance date of this decision. Upon receipt of the application and processing fee, it is ordered that his application be processed. If the appellant’s application and the required payment is not postmarked on or before the 15th day after the issuance date of this decision, he will not be entitled to have his application reviewed. It is further ordered that upon determination of eligibility, the appellant be admitted to the subject examination.

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