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N.J.A.C. 4A:2-3.2 Minor discipline appeal to appointing authority: State service

N.J.A.C. 4A:2-3.2, Minor discipline appeal to appointing authority: State service. Where departmental minor discipline appeal procedures are established by a negotiated agreement, such agreement shall be the applicable appeal process. (b) Full text with 1 recorded amendment, 5 citing decisions.

Appeals, Discipline, and Separations · Minor Discipline and Grievances

Current through New Jersey Register, Vol. 58 No. 14, July 20, 2026. Reviewed as of July 26, 2026.

This is an annotated mirror, not the official publication. Verify against the Civil Service Commission before relying on it.

In plain language

Read the contract before the rule. Where a negotiated agreement establishes a departmental minor discipline appeal procedure, that agreement is the applicable process, and this section governs only State service employees with no agreement or with one that says nothing about minor discipline appeals. For them the first clock is short. A departmental hearing has to be requested within five days of receiving the notice of discipline, unless the appointing authority agrees to more time. The hearing then happens within 30 days of that request unless both sides consent to an adjournment, and the appointing authority carries the burden of proof at it. A final written disposition is due within 20 days of the hearing, on the Appeal of Minor Disciplinary Action form DPF-335, unless the parties agree to an extension. Silence is not neutral here. If the department does not respond within that period, the rule counts it as a denial of the appeal, and 4A:2-3.7 then allows 20 days from the conclusion of departmental proceedings to appeal to the Commission.

Written by the NJ Civil Service Navigator editorial team from the text of N.J.A.C. 4A:2-3.2. It is a description of the rule, not the rule itself, and not legal advice.

(a) Where departmental minor discipline appeal procedures are established by a negotiated agreement, such agreement shall be the applicable appeal process. #

(b) Employees not covered by a negotiated agreement or covered by an agreement that does not address a minor discipline appeal process shall request a departmental hearing within five days of receipt of a notice of discipline or such additional time as may be agreed to by the appointing authority. #

1. The departmental hearing shall be conducted within 30 days of such request unless adjourned by the consent of the parties. #

2. The burden of proof shall be on the appointing authority. #

3. The department shall make a final written disposition of the charges within 20 days of the hearing on Appeal of Minor Disciplinary Action form (DPF-335), unless the parties have consented to a time extension. The lack of response by the department within this period shall be considered a denial of the appeal. #

(c) See N.J.A.C. 4A:2-3.6 for conduct and scheduling and N.J.A.C. 4A:2-3.7 for appeals to the Civil Service Commission. #

Amendment history

Rule numbers, effective dates and New Jersey Register citations as published. 1 recorded change.

  1. AmendedR.2015 d.186
    47 N.J.R. 1689(a); 47 N.J.R. 2966(a)

How this rule has been applied

5 decisions have cited N.J.A.C. 4A:2-3.2. The list below is citations to those decisions, not the decisions. We have not written summaries for this section. A citation with no summary is deliberate: we do not paraphrase a decision we have not read. Nothing here is legal advice.

Federal courts (1)
  • Marrero v. Camden County Board of Social Services164 F.Supp.2d 455
Civil Service Commission final determinations (3)
  • In re B.P., Dep't of Transp., CSC Docket No. 2017-33642018 N.J. CSC LEXIS 255Docket 2017-3364
  • In re Rashad Shepperson, Dep't of Corr., CSC Dkt. No. 2014-14552014 N.J. CSC LEXIS 234
  • In re Robert A Giangrasso, Dep't. of Transp., CSC Dkt. No. 2012-34632013 N.J. CSC LEXIS 183
Office of Administrative Law initial decisions (1)
  • In re Young, Woodbine Dev. Ctr., Dep't of Human Servs.2020 N.J. AGEN LEXIS 333Docket CSV 16508-19

This rule points to

Elsewhere in Minor Discipline and Grievances