George Hesse, CSC Docket No. 2022-1732

BackgroundGeorge Hesse appeals the denial of his request to file a late application for the Deputy Fire Chief (PM5172C) West Orange promotional examination.

The subject examination was announced on December 1, 2021, with an application deadline date of December 21, 2021, and a closing date of February 28, 2022. Only on-line applications were accepted, and the appellant did not submit one. Nine candidates were admitted to the examination which has not been administered.

By way of background, at the end of December 2021, the appellant sent an email to the Division of Agency Services (Agency Services), stating that “I have been out for a surgery since November 8th and was not notified that my employer filed for the test on December 1, 2021 and it has since been closed/removed.” Agency Services responded by requesting documentation of an approved medical leave, which the appellant sent. Agency Services denied the request, stating that all members received an email sent by Power DMS1 that required a signature to acknowledge receipt, and that the appellant did not view or sign the notification. Agency Services stated that it understands that employees have access to their Power DMS accounts at home.

1A cloud-based compliance management platform used in public safety agencies to communicate with and train employees, and which has electronic signature capture and tracking.

Appellant's argumentOn appeal, the appellant argues that he found out about the announcement on Christmas 2021, four days after the closing date, and was told by his Deputy Fire Chief that the announcement was sent by Power DMS with no other means of communication. He indicates that he did not have access to that account from his personal device. He argues that there is no policy that requires employees to access their mail, Power DMS, or other work sites while off-duty or sick. He provides a memorandum from the Deputy Fire Chief to Agency Services which indicates that the appellant was out on a scheduled sick leave for medical purposes during the announcement time frame and did not receive the information regarding the examination from Power DMS while he was off-duty and recovering at home. The Deputy Fire Chief also supplied an Employee Scheduled Absence Report for the appellant which indicated that he was out of work for 12 weeks from before the announcement date to January 31, 2022, due to a surgery.

CONCLUSION

RuleN.J.A.C. 4A:4-2.1(e) provides, in pertinent part, that applications for open competitive and promotional examinations should be filed no later than the announced filing date for filing applications. N.J.A.C. 4A:l-1.2(c) provides that the Civil Service Commission (Commission) may relax a rule for good cause to effectuate the purpose of Title l1A, New Jersey Statutes.

AnalysisThe appellant was not admitted to the subject examination since he did not file an application by 4:00 p.m. on the December 21, 2021, application deadline date. However, the appellant was not at work during the 21 day filing period, and claims he does not have access to Power DMS on his personal device. The Deputy Fire Chief confirmed that the appellant did not access that account during the filing period, and that he was out on scheduled leave. The Commission generally denies requests to accept late examination applications, as N.J.A.C. 4A:4-2.1(e) requires applicants to file their applications by the closing date. However, under the circumstances presented, the Commission finds that there is good cause to relax N.J.A.C. 4A:4-2.1(e) and allow the appellant to submit a late application for the subject examination. Finally, as this remedy is limited to the unique circumstances of this matter, it does not provide a precedent in any other matter.

ORDER

Therefore, it is ordered that this appeal be granted, and the appellant be permitted to submit an application for the Deputy Fire Chief (PM5172C) West Orange promotional examination. It is further ordered that appellant submit the promotional application and the $100.00 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. Finally, if the appellant’s application and the required payment are not postmarked on or before the 15th day after the issuance date of this decision, he will not be entitled to have an application for the subject examination processed.

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