N.J.A.C. 4A:2-2.8 Appeals to Civil Service Commission

Appealing major discipline to the Commission

Twenty days from receipt of the Final Notice of Disciplinary Action by you. The rule spells out the part that catches people: receipt of the Notice on a different date by your attorney or union representative does not affect the appeal period. If your representative was served first, the clock did not start earlier; if they were served later, it did not start later either.

If no Final Notice ever arrives, the deadline is not simply missed. An appeal may be made directly to the Commission within a reasonable time where the appointing authority failed to provide one. The rule does not say how long that is.

The appeal has to be substantially similar in format to the Major Disciplinary Appeal Form in the subchapter appendix, and a copy goes to the appointing authority. Attach the Preliminary Notice of Disciplinary Action and, unless there never was one, the Final Notice. Include the name, title, mailing address and telephone number of the appointing authority representative the notices were provided to, your own name, address and telephone number, and the action being appealed. A statement of the reasons for the appeal and the relief requested should be included as well.

Leaving out the required information carries three possible consequences and one of them is financial. Processing is delayed until you supply it, the appeal may be dismissed after notice and a reasonable opportunity to fix the gap, and the omission may result in a reduced back pay award under the mitigation provisions of the back pay rule. General filing requirements apply on top: the appeal must be in writing and signed, state the specific relief requested, and carry the $20.00 processing fee unless you have established veterans preference or document receipt of General Assistance, Work First New Jersey benefits or Supplemental Security Income.

Two things can redirect the appeal entirely, and both need checking before it is filed. Where the State and the majority representative have agreed to a disciplinary review procedure providing binding arbitration of an action that would otherwise be appealable here, that procedure is the exclusive route and the Commission appeal is not available. And a permanent full-time law enforcement officer or firefighter appealing a removal files under a different section: simultaneously with the Office of Administrative Law and with the Commission, on that section's own form. Filing within 20 days with only one of the two still counts as timely, but failing to file with either within 20 days makes the appeal untimely and the Commission will dismiss it. That track also carries its own downstream clocks, including a final determination due within 45 days of the Commission receiving the administrative law judge's initial decision, and pay resuming where a determination is not rendered within 180 days of the initial suspension without pay.

What happens after filing is not in this section. Hearing requests are reviewed by the Chairperson, and major discipline matters are heard by the Commission or referred to the Office of Administrative Law. The appointing authority carries the burden of proof, and the Commission may reverse or modify the penalty, though it may not substitute removal for something lesser. If the discipline is reversed, back pay, benefits and seniority follow under their own rule, and counsel fees under theirs.

Related on this site: /discipline-removal

Written by the NJ Civil Service Navigator editorial team. Every statement here traces to the rules cited on this page. It is not legal advice, and a collective agreement may change how these rules apply to you.