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N.J.A.C. 4A:3-4.10 Demotional pay adjustments: State service

N.J.A.C. 4A:3-4.10, Demotional pay adjustments: State service. The salary of an employee who receives a disciplinary demotion shall be adjusted by reducing the employee's salary one increment in the higher range. Then, Full text with 5 recorded amendments, 3 citing decisions, cited by 3 other rules

Classification, Services, and Compensation · Compensation

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

One word separates a disciplinary demotion from every other kind. Both begin by cutting one increment in the higher range. A disciplinary demotion then lands the employee on the step in the lower range equal to or next lower than that reduced figure, while a non-disciplinary demotion lands on the step equal to or next higher. The gentler treatment is conditional: the employee must have served at least 12 months in the higher title and must either have held the lower title before, be demoted in lieu of layoff, or have the Chairperson find that the higher service gave significant preparation and training for the lower. Otherwise the salary is reconstructed as though the employee had been in the lower title all along. A demotion in lieu of removal for lost qualifications, the example given is a truck driver whose licence is suspended, carries a return path at the step held before the demotion. Non-disciplinary demotions below the class code of a permanent title require 45 days notice.

Written by the NJ Civil Service Navigator editorial team from the text of N.J.A.C. 4A:3-4.10. It is a description of the rule, not the rule itself, and not legal advice.

(a) The salary of an employee who receives a disciplinary demotion shall be adjusted by reducing the employee's salary one increment in the higher range. Then, the employee's salary in the lower range will be set at the step that is equal to or next lower than such reduced salary. #

1. The adjustment in (a) above shall be made after adjustment for workweek. See N.J.A.C. 4A:3-4.9(f). #

i. When a workweek change occurs for an employee whose salary is between steps of the range, the following calculation shall be made to accommodate the workweek adjustment: Divide the amount of extra salary by the amount of the increment of the employee's current salary range. This will provide a percentage of the current increment represented by the extra salary. Adjust the employee's salary to the workweek adjusted range at the same step. Calculate the amount of extra salary by applying the percentage arrived at above to the increment of the workweek adjusted range. #

2. The anniversary date is retained, unless the action results in step eight or nine, in which case the anniversary date is based on the effective date of the action. #

(b) When an appointing authority demotes an employee involuntarily in lieu of removal due to loss of qualifications for job title (for example, a Truck Driver whose license is suspended is demoted to a Building Maintenance Worker), salary and anniversary date shall be determined as provided in (a) above. If the employee is subsequently returned to the former title, he or she may be appointed up to and including the step held prior to the demotion. #

(c) If the demotion is other than disciplinary or in lieu of removal under (b) above, the employee's salary shall be reduced one increment in the higher range. Then the employee's salary in the lower range will be set at the step that is equal to or next higher than such reduced salary. #

1. The adjustment in (c) above is made after adjustment for workweek. See N.J.A.C. 4A:3-4.9(f). #

2. The anniversary date is retained, unless the action results in step eight or nine. #

i. If the action results in step eight, the employee shall be eligible for advancement to step nine, if warranted by performance, on the pay period that reflects the difference between the time served on the step prior to demotion and 39 pay periods. #

ii. If the action results in step nine, the anniversary date is based on the effective date of the action. #

3. This adjustment shall be applied only when the employee has served at least 12 months in the higher title and: #

i. The employee has previously held the lower title; #

ii. The employee is being demoted in lieu of layoff; or #

iii. The Chairperson or designee finds that service in the higher title provided significant preparation and training for service in the lower title. #

4. If the conditions in (c)3 above are not met, then salary and anniversary date shall be determined by reconstructing the employee's salary as if the employee had remained in or been appointed to the lower title on the date he or she was appointed to the higher title. N.J.A.C. 4A:3-4.4 may be applied, but in no case shall an employee receive a higher salary than that calculated through the application of (c) above. #

(d) For all non-disciplinary demotions except voluntary demotions and those provided in (b) above, an employee demoted to a title lower than the class code of his or her permanent title must be given 45 days' notice of demotion by the appointing authority. #

(e) This section shall not be used to gain a salary increase for an employee, except in the following situations: #

1. An employee is moving from a managerial to a non-managerial title and the applicable salary regulation issued in accordance with the annual Appropriations Act provides that the affected employee shall receive a salary increase; or #

2. The employee receives a salary increase due to a change in workweek. #

Amendment history

Rule numbers, effective dates and New Jersey Register citations as published. 5 recorded changes.

  1. AmendedR.2017 d.100
    48 N.J.R. 2653(a); 49 N.J.R. 1182(a)
  2. AmendedR.2012 d.088
    44 N.J.R. 5(a); 44 N.J.R. 1333(a)
  3. AmendedR.1994 d.71
    25 N.J.R. 4821(a); 26 N.J.R. 794(a)
  4. AmendedR.1993 d.424
    25 N.J.R. 1916(a); 25 N.J.R. 4064(a)
  5. date not statedAdministrative correction
    27 N.J.R. 2577(b)

How this rule has been applied

3 decisions have cited N.J.A.C. 4A:3-4.10. 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 (3)
  • In re Kovalyuk, et al, Dep't of Health, CSC Docket Nos. 2016-3635, et al (Consolidated)2020 N.J. CSC LEXIS 169Docket 2016-3635
  • In re McCabe, Dep't of Human Servs., CSC Docket No. 2019-10152019 N.J. CSC LEXIS 146Docket 2019-1015
  • Auditor 1, Taxation. In re Gallagher, Dep't of the Treasury, CSC Docket No. 2015-30342015 N.J. CSC LEXIS 147Docket 2015-3034

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