Classification Appeals in NJ Civil Service

How a position gets its title

The Civil Service Commission assigns each position in the career and unclassified services to a job title (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.1(a)). A career service position gets its title on the basis of job analysis, and the title has to describe the duties and responsibilities, the level of supervision exercised and received, and the minimum education and experience the work needs. In State service the title also sets the level of compensation (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.1(b)).

Every title has a job specification with a descriptive summary of the duties of the positions grouped under it (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.2(b)). The statute tells the Commission to group positions with similar qualifications, authority and responsibility in a single title and to provide a specification for each title (N.J.S.A. 11A:3-1, subsections c and e). That specification is the yardstick for everything on this page, and you can read the one for your title through the job specification search. To the extent feasible, State and local plans use the same titles (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.2(d)).

Your assigned title is the one that must appear on personnel and payroll records, budgets included. An employer may also give a position a descriptive title for other purposes, such as correspondence with the public (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.1(c)). A working title on a door or an email signature therefore tells you nothing about how the position is classified.

This guide is about one position and whether its title fits. Two other pages on this site answer a different question, which service or division a title sits in: classified versus unclassified and competitive versus non-competitive. The classification hub lists titles by category.

What the rules say about out-of-title work

The rule itself is one sentence. No person may be appointed or employed under a title that is not appropriate to the duties to be performed, or assigned duties other than those properly pertaining to the title they hold, unless a law or the Commission's rules provide otherwise (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.4).

Employers carry a reporting duty alongside it. An appointing authority must promptly notify the Chairperson or designee of changes in the duties and responsibilities of individual positions, as well as new positions and organizational changes (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.3(b)). Positions in the career, unclassified and senior executive services are subject to job audit by the Chairperson or designee to make sure they are accurately classified (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.3(d)).

What the rules do not do is convert out-of-title work into a higher title on their own. When a review finds a position properly classified but out-of-title duties being performed, the remedy the rule names is a written order to remove those duties (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.9(c)5 and (d)1). The experience can also be discounted later: for a promotional examination with open competitive requirements, experience gained through out-of-title work cannot be used to get into the examination or to earn credit in it, except where the Chairperson or designee permits it for good cause (N.J.A.C. 4A:4-2.6(c)).

Asking for a position review

The formal route is a position review request. It is either a petition for review of how a position has been classified or reclassified, or a complaint that the duties of a specific position do not conform to the approved job specification for its title (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.9(a)). The procedure applies to employees in the career and unclassified services (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.9(b)).

You do not have to be the one who starts it. An appointing authority may ask the Chairperson or designee for a classification review, the Chairperson or designee may begin one, and an employee or union representative may request one under N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.9 (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.5(b)). In local service the appointing authority can file a petition under the same section as well (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.9(d)).

The Commission charges no processing fee for a classification appeal (N.J.A.C. 4A:2-1.8(a)5). Beyond that, the steps differ sharply between State and local service, so the next two sections take them one at a time.

The State service petition, step by step

In State service a petition from an employee or union representative must be in writing and include a position classification questionnaire completed by the petitioner. It has to name the title the petitioner believes fits the duties, and explain how those duties are more appropriate to that title than to the one the employee now serves in (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.9(c)). From there the rule sets a sequence:

1. Complete the questionnaire. You fill out the position classification questionnaire, including the percentage of time spent on each duty and the title you propose, and submit the petition to your immediate supervisor (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.9(c)).
2. Supervisor responds. Your immediate supervisor marks agreement or disagreement with your description of duties, your percentages and your proposed title, explains any disagreement in writing, and signs (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.9(c)1).
3. Program manager or division director responds. The questionnaire goes to the program manager or division director, who does the same. Both have 15 days from your submission to the supervisor, and by the end of that period the questionnaire goes to the agency representative with your most recent PAR form (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.9(c)2, 3).
4. Agency representative checks the file. Within 10 days of receipt, the agency representative either tells you what specific additional information is needed or forwards the petition with an organizational chart to the Commission representative and tells you so, and may add a written recommendation to approve or reject. If more information was requested, the petition goes forward within 10 days of your response (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.9(c)4).
5. Commission representative decides. The Commission representative reviews the petition, asks for more information if needed, orders a desk audit where warranted, and issues a written decision letter within 180 days of a complete file (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.9(c)5).
6. Appeal if you disagree. You or your authorized employee representative may appeal to the Civil Service Commission in writing within 20 days of receiving the decision letter (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.9(e)).

The 180 days run from the Commission representative's receipt of the petition and all the completed documentation it requires (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.9(c)5), not from the day the questionnaire first reaches your supervisor.

The local service petition

Local service skips the internal chain. An employee, a union representative or the appointing authority sends a written petition straight to the appropriate Commission representative. It must identify the specific duties that do not conform to the title's specification, and if it proposes a different title, explain how that title describes the duties of the position more accurately (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.9(d)).

A questionnaire and an organizational chart are needed only if a Commission representative asks for them. If your supervisor has not signed the questionnaire within 15 working days of receiving it from you, you may send it to the Commission representative without the signature, noting the date you presented it (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.9(d)). The decision letter is due within 180 days of receipt of the petition and all completed documentation (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.9(d)1).

What the decision letter can find

In State service, when the agency representative, the Commission representative, the program manager or division director and the petitioner all agree with the proposed title, the Commission representative issues an abbreviated decision letter (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.9(c)5). Otherwise, and in every local case, the letter has to include a summary of the duties of the position, findings of fact, conclusions, notice of appeal rights to the Commission, and one of three determinations (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.9(c)5 and (d)1):

• The position is properly classified.
• The position is properly classified, but out-of-title duties are being performed. The Commission representative orders in writing the immediate removal of the inappropriate duties, and in State service the order sets a specified period for it.
• The position should be reclassified, and normal reclassification procedures are started. The State paragraph adds that they start immediately.

The second outcome is easy to overlook. A finding that you were doing work beyond your title can end with the work reassigned and your title unchanged, because removal of the duties is the remedy that paragraph provides.

When a position is reclassified

Reclassification applies when a position's duties and responsibilities have changed so far that they no longer resemble the specification and the title is no longer appropriate. After review, the Chairperson or designee reclassifies the position to a more appropriate title if there is one, establishes a new title for it, or takes other appropriate action based on the employer's organizational structure (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.5(a)).

No reclassification takes effect until notice is given to affected permanent employees and an appropriate Commission representative approves it (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.5(c)). Within 30 days of receiving the determination, unless the Chairperson or designee extends the time for good cause, the appointing authority must take one of three steps: change the classification of the employee's position, assign duties that match the employee's current title, or reassign the employee to the duties to which they hold permanent rights (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.5(c)1).

Any change in a permanent employee's classification, whether it works as a promotion, a demotion or a lateral move, has to be made under all the applicable rules (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.5(c)1). One of those rules relaxes consent for lateral moves: a lateral title change normally needs the consent of the employee and the head of the organizational unit, but not when it results from reclassification of the employee's position (N.J.A.C. 4A:4-7.6(d)). Appointments, promotions and related personnel actions are all subject to the review and approval of the Chairperson or designee (N.J.A.C. 4A:4-1.10(a)).

When no existing title fits, a new one can be made. The Commission may decide a new title or series is necessary when new functions assigned to a position are not appropriately described by any existing title (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.6(a)). The request comes from the appointing authority in writing, through its agency representative in State service (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.6(b)), and while approval is pending the affected positions may be designated "Tentative Title" (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.6(d)).

Pay and effective dates

In State service the title sets the level of compensation (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.1(b)3), so moving a position to a title at a different level can change the pay that applies to it. State salary schedules are on the compensation compendium page. For local employees the statute says pay must bear a reasonable relationship to the title, and no base salary may fall below the minimum or above the maximum established for the employee's title (N.J.S.A. 11A:3-7, subsection d).

If the Commission grants a classification appeal, the rule fixes when it is implemented. In State service the date is the pay period immediately after 14 days from when a Commission representative first received the appeal or reclassification request. In local service it is the date the request was first received. Either way the Commission may direct an earlier date (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.9(e)3). The clock starts when a Commission representative first receives the request, not when you hand it to your supervisor. In State service the petition reaches a Commission representative only after the supervisor, the program manager or division director and the agency representative have handled it (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.9(c)3, 4).

The position review rules say nothing about back pay for out-of-title work already done, and this guide does not supply a figure. For a new State title, pay for people serving in a Tentative Title follows N.J.A.C. 4A:3-4.15, which the new-title rule cites (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.6(d)). Under it, a new employee may be appointed at up to the fourth step of the range first recommended for the title, current employees have their salaries adjusted as if the title carried that range, and if the final range comes out lower, salaries are adjusted under the downward reevaluation rules (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-4.15).

Permanent status and promotional examinations

A change of title and a change of status are separate questions. One of the employer's three options after a reclassification determination is to return you to the duties of the title in which you hold permanent rights (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.5(c)1), and the classification rules hand the rest to the rules for promotions, demotions and lateral moves. Nothing in N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3 itself grants permanent status in a new title.

For a lateral move the answer is written out. If the two titles are substantially similar in the nature of the work and the education and experience they require, you keep permanent status and accumulated seniority. If they are dissimilar, you are appointed pending examination where the new title is in the competitive division, and you must complete a working test period; failing the examination or being released at the end of the test period returns you to your permanent title unless you are disqualified from further employment (N.J.A.C. 4A:4-7.6(b), (c)). The examination is waived and permanent status kept if you held the new title permanently earlier in your current continuous service (N.J.A.C. 4A:4-7.6(c)1).

Out-of-title experience has a specific rule for promotions. Where an examination has open competitive requirements, that experience cannot be used for admission or credit unless the Chairperson or designee finds good cause. One stated example is an eligible pool that would produce an incomplete list, or applications that exceed the provisional incumbents by no more than one. In that case you may submit a detailed statement from your supervisor describing the out-of-title duties and why they had to be performed, with a statement from the appointing authority verifying it and showing interest in appointing from the resulting list (N.J.A.C. 4A:4-2.6(c)). The civil service exam guide covers the rest of promotional eligibility.

Trainee titles work differently and are not a classification appeal. In State service trainee positions are set up by temporary downward classification of another title, and a successful permanent trainee moves to the primary title by regular appointment, without the usual promotional examination, once the employer certifies completion of the training period and any added requirements the primary title's specification sets. The employee then serves a working test period in the primary title (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.7(a)3, (j)1, (j)4).

Appealing a decision to the Commission

An employee, an authorized employee representative or a local appointing authority may appeal the Commission representative's decision to the Civil Service Commission. The appeal must be in writing within 20 days of receipt of the decision letter, and must include copies of all materials submitted, the determination received from the lower level, a statement of which parts are disputed, and the basis for the appeal (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.9(e)). The general filing rule adds that an appeal is signed by the appellant or a representative and states the specific relief requested (N.J.A.C. 4A:2-1.1(a)).

The record is effectively closed at this stage. Information or arguments not presented at the prior level are not considered, and when new information or arguments are offered the appeal may be remanded to the prior level (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.9(e)).

The Commission may decide on the written record or appoint an independent classification reviewer to hold an informal review. All parties are told the review date and may present arguments, and an employee may be represented by counsel or by a union representative (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.9(e)1). The reviewer sends a report and recommendation to the Commission within 30 days of the review. Exceptions are due within 15 days of receiving the report and must be served on all parties, and cross-exceptions within 10 days of receiving exceptions (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.9(e)2). The Commission's decision is the final administrative determination (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.9(e)4).

The same appeal covers a reclassification the Commission initiated or an employer requested. An employee in the career or unclassified service, in State or local service, or a local appointing authority that disagrees with a reclassification determination may appeal under N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.9 (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.5(c)2).

A position review is not a title reevaluation

State service has a separate procedure for a whole title. A job reevaluation determines a title's proper class code. An appeal by an employee or union representative goes in writing to the agency representative and must explain the substantive change in job content through a written narrative and a marked-up job specification, with evidence that the change affects all employees in the title (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-4.3(b)). The Commission representative decides within 60 days of receiving all required information, an appeal to the Commission runs 20 days from receipt of that decision, and an approved reevaluation takes effect from the first full pay period after the Commission receives a fully documented request or appeal (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-4.3(c), (d), (g)).

So the two answer different questions. A position review asks whether one position fits its title. A reevaluation asks whether the title is placed at the right level, and it turns on a change shared by everyone in the title. The new-title rule sends appeals from the salary evaluation of a new State title to the reevaluation procedure (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.6(e)). In State service, the agency representative must also give notice to affected negotiations representatives when it submits job content reevaluation requests, new title requests, specification changes or reorganizations to the Commission (N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.3(f)).

Grievances, enforcement and delegated classification

A State grievance is not a substitute. Grievance procedures may not be used for any matter that has another specific type of appeal to the Commission (N.J.A.C. 4A:2-3.1(f)), and classification appears on the list of specific appeals (N.J.A.C. 4A:2-1.7(a)2). The grievance subchapter does not apply to local service at all (N.J.A.C. 4A:2-3.1(d)).

A decision has teeth behind it. N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.9(f) points to the enforcement rules: where there is evidence of noncompliance with Title 11A or Title 4A, the Commission holds an investigatory hearing or other review and, if it finds noncompliance, may issue a compliance order, assess costs, charges and fines of up to $10,000, or take other action allowed by law or rule (N.J.A.C. 4A:10-2.1(a)). The Commission or any party in interest may also bring an action in Superior Court to enforce Title 11A, Title 4A or a Commission order (N.J.A.C. 4A:10-2.3). Separately, the statute lets the Commission audit State and local payrolls and order immediate compliance (N.J.S.A. 11A:3-8).

Some employers classify positions themselves under a delegation. The Chairperson may delegate classifying and reclassifying positions to an appointing authority in a signed written delegation, but appeal decisions of the Commission or the Chairperson cannot be delegated (N.J.A.C. 4A:1-4.1(a), (b), (e)). Before a layoff, the employer is to lessen the impact on permanent employees, to the extent possible, by first placing employees without permanent status, then those with the least seniority, in positions being vacated, reclassified or abolished (N.J.A.C. 4A:8-1.3(b)); the layoffs guide covers that process.

Other workplace rights guides

This guide is one of a set on the rules that govern working for a New Jersey civil service employer. Start at the workplace rights overview for how the different appeal routes fit together.

• Telework in State service

  The two-day limit, the thirteen eligibility criteria, how denials and revocations are decided, and the three ways to challenge one.

• Vacation, sick and family leave

  How much leave you earn, what happens to unused days, sick leave at retirement, family leave, and the State and local split.

• Discipline and removal

  Major and minor discipline, notice and hearing before a penalty, the 20-day appeal and what you recover if you win.

• Layoffs

  The 45-day notice, how seniority is counted, lateral and demotional rights, special reemployment lists and the two layoff appeals.

• Pay, steps and overtime

  How steps and anniversary dates work, pay on promotion, demotion and reclassification, overtime categories, comp time and holiday pay.

• The working test period

  How long the probation period lasts, the progress reports, what happens at the end, and the appeal if you are let go.

• Certification and removal from a list

  What a certification holds, how the employer disposes of it, the grounds for removing a name, list expiration and revival, and the 20-day appeal.

• Veterans preference

  Who qualifies, how the Adjutant General decides status, and how preference orders open competitive, promotional and noncompetitive appointments and layoffs.