NJ Civil Service Navigator

N.J.A.C. 4A:2-3.4 Grievance procedure: Step One: State service

N.J.A.C. 4A:2-3.4, Grievance procedure: Step One: State service. A grievance shall be presented in writing on the Grievance Procedure Form (DPF-251) to the office or individual designated by the department to process the Full text with 1 recorded amendment, 1 citing decision, cited by 2 other rules

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

Four numbers run Step One in State service. Thirty calendar days to file, counted from the date the alleged act occurred or from when the grievant should reasonably have known of it. Seven days for the department to notify the employee of the scheduled hearing or grievance meeting date. Thirty days from its receipt of the grievance for that hearing or meeting to be held. Fourteen days after the hearing or meeting concludes for a written decision. The last three can be stretched if both parties agree, and where the department simply misses them the rule treats the silence as a negative response rather than as nothing, which under 4A:2-3.5 is itself a trigger for appealing to Step Two. The filing goes on the Grievance Procedure Form DPF-251, to whichever office or individual the department has designated, and it has to specify the act or circumstance being grieved, state the remedy requested, and say whether the employee is self represented or name their counsel or agent. The rule also asks that efforts be made to resolve the matter informally.

Written by the NJ Civil Service Navigator editorial team from the text of N.J.A.C. 4A:2-3.4. It is a description of the rule, not the rule itself, and not legal advice.

(a) A grievance shall be presented in writing on the Grievance Procedure Form (DPF-251) to the office or individual designated by the department to process the matter. It must be filed within 30 calendar days from either the date on which the alleged act occurred or the date on which the grievant should reasonably have known of its occurrence. Efforts should be made to resolve the matter informally. #

(b) All grievances shall: #

1. Specify the particular act or circumstance being grieved; #

2. State the requested remedy; and #

3. Indicate whether the employee is representing himself or herself or the name of the employee's counsel or agent. #

(c) The office or individual receiving the grievance shall notify the employee of the scheduled hearing or grievance meeting date within seven days of receipt of the grievance. Such hearing or grievance meeting shall be conducted within 30 days of receipt of the grievance, unless an additional time period is agreed to by the parties. #

(d) A written decision shall be rendered within 14 days after the conclusion of the hearing or grievance meeting. #

(e) Lack of response by the department within the periods set forth in (c) and (d) above, unless the parties have consented to a time extension, shall be considered a negative response. #

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

1 decision has cited N.J.A.C. 4A:2-3.4. 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.

Civil Service Commission final determinations (1)
  • In re Ahmad, Claims Adjudicator Supervisor, Disability Determinations (PS0927N), Dep't of Lab. & Workforce Dev., CSC Docket No. 2022-7652021 N.J. CSC LEXIS 540Docket 2022-765

Rules that point here

Elsewhere in Minor Discipline and Grievances