Vidal Guzman-Sanchez, CSC Docket No. 2022-2982

BackgroundVidal Guzman-Sanchez appeals the decision of the Division of Agency Services (Agency Services) which found that he did not meet the experience requirements for the promotional examination for Principal Drafting Technician (PM3730D), East Orange.

The subject promotional examination had a closing date of February 22, 2022 and was open to employees in the competitive division who had an aggregate of one year of continuous permanent service as of the closing date in the title Senior Drafting Technician OR in any competitive title and who met the announced requirement of two years of drafting experience. The appellant was found to be below the minimum requirements in experience. As the appellant was the sole applicant, the examination was cancelled on May 27, 2022.

On his application, the appellant listed two positions, Entry Level Architect (part-time, 30 hours per week), and Science and Spanish Teacher. He was credited with one year, ten months of prorated experience for the part-time position as an Architect, and was found to be lacking two months of required experience.

Appellant's argumentOn appeal, the appellant provides information regarding his positions of employment in East Orange, specifically, that of provisional Principal Drafting Technician.

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:4-2.1(f) provides that an application may only be amended prior to the announced closing date.

N.J.A.C. 4A:1-1.2(c) provides that the Civil Service Commission may relax the rules for good cause in a particular situation, on notice to affected parties, in order to effectuate the purposes of Title 11A, New Jersey Statutes.

AnalysisIn the instant matter, the appellant was found to be lacking two months of qualifying experience as the appellant was only credited for his part-time experience as an Architect. As such, Agency Services correctly determined that the appellant was not eligible for the subject examination. Nevertheless, while the appellant’s Principal Drafting Technician position was not listed on his application, the duties for this position were provided on appeal and are applicable, and the appellant accrued over five years of experience in that title. He serves as a provisional in the subject title, and the examination was cancelled. As such, good cause exists to relax the provisions of N.J.A.C. 4A:4-2.6(a) and N.J.A.C. 4A:4-2.1(f), and accept the appellant’s additional experience, for eligibility purposes only, and admit him to the examination.

On a final note, the On-Line Application System User’s Guide cautions applicants to carefully review the application to ensure that it is complete and accurate before submitting, and to complete the application in detail. It states that failure to complete the application properly may cause the applicant to be declared ineligible. The instructions under the experience portion of the applications advise applicants to provide all employment information (not just current employment information), and if they have multiple positions, they need to make sure that they provide each one separately. The appellant should follow these instructions and properly complete any future applications for examinations.

ORDER

Therefore, it is ordered that this appeal be granted, the examination cancellation be rescinded, and the appellant’s application be processed.

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