Technical Assistant, CSC Docket No. 2025-276

BackgroundThe Division of Agency Services (Agency Services), on behalf of the Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC), requests the creation of the Technical Assistant, Motor Vehicle Commission title in the competitive division of the career service and the reallocation of the title to the noncompetitive division of the career service on an interim basis.

By way of background, the new title will be assigned to the MVC headquarters and perform various technical functions that support recent State and federal legislation, including processing applications for driver’s licenses, commercial driver’s licenses, licenses for undocumented immigrants, and REAL ID licenses; reviewing and verifying data; undertaking research for projects; and responding to technical inquiries. With the implementation of government mandates and legislation such as Electronic Lean and Title (ETL), Transfer on Death (TOD), REAL ID, etc., the MVC needs to quickly recruit and hire qualified candidates to execute these mandates. The MVC explains that it has posted vacancy notices Statewide to attract candidates but there are not enough responses to meet the demands of filling its vacancies.

In light of the above, Agency Service is requesting the titles listed below be established in the competitive division of the career service and be reallocated to the noncompetitive division of the career service on an interim basis, for one year, to allow the MVC to meet recent legislative mandates and its urgent need to hire quickly and staff its office.

It is noted that the bargaining unit has been assigned by the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations, and the appropriate negotiations representative has been notified and has not expressed any objections.

CONCLUSION

RuleN.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.6(a) states, in pertinent part, that the Civil Service Commission (Commission) may determine that a new title or title series is necessary. N.J.A.C. 4A:3-1.2(a) states that the Commission shall allocate and reallocate career service titles between the competitive and noncompetitive divisions.

N.J.A.C. 4A:3-1.2(c) provides that a job title may be placed in the noncompetitive division on an ongoing or interim basis when it is determined by the Commission that it is appropriate to make permanent appointments to the title and one or more of the following criteria are met.

Analysis1. Competitive testing is not practicable due to the nature of the knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with the job;

2. Certification procedures based on ranked eligible lists have not or are likely have not or likely to meet the needs of appointing authorities due to such factors as salary, geographic location, recruitment problems, and working conditions; or

3. There is a need for immediate appointments arising from a new legislation program or major agency reorganization.

RuleN.J.A.C. 4A:3-1.2(e) provides, in pertinent part, that prior to any reallocation from the competitive to noncompetitive division, whether on an ongoing or interim basis, an administrative review shall be conducted and notice of the proposed reallocation shall be sent to affected appointing authorities and negotiations representatives. The notice shall designate the period of time, which in no event shall be less than 20 days, during which written comment may be submitted, and may provide for a public hearing.

AnalysisBased on the foregoing, ample reasons exist for the establishment of the Technical Assistant, Motor Vehicle Commission title and its allocation to the noncompetitive division on an interim basis based on N.J.A.C. 4A:3-1.2(c)3. In this regard, the MVC has a critical need to hire quickly and staff its office in response to recent legislative mandates. Additionally, N.J.A.C. 4A:3-1.2(g) provides that if a title is designated noncompetitive on an interim basis, at the end of the interim noncompetitive period, which shall be no greater than one year, the job title shall be redesignated as competitive. Individuals appointed during the interim noncompetitive period shall, upon successful completion of their working test periods, attain permanent status in the competitive division.

ORDER

Therefore, it is ordered that this request be granted, and the title of Technical Assistant, Motor Vehicle Commission be established. It is also ordered that the request for interim noncompetitive designation for the Technical Assistant, Motor Vehicle Commission title be granted. The effective date of this action will be the beginning of the first pay period that follows the Commission’s approval and will end one year later. At the end of this period, the subject title will be returned to the competitive division of the career service.

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