N.J.A.C. 4A:3-5.7 Special circumstances: State service

N.J.A.C. 4A:3-5.7, Special circumstances: State service. Eligibility for overtime compensation for on call employees shall be as follows: 1. Employees in covered positions (35, 40, NE) who are required to remain o Full text with 2 recorded amendments, 5 citing decisions, cited by 3 other rules.

Classification, Services, and Compensation · Overtime 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

On call, training, travel and emergencies, with the same three-tier pattern running through the first three. Covered employees in 35, 40 and NE titles have the time counted toward hours worked, though overtime becomes payable only once the total passes 40 in the week. Exempt fixed workweek employees in 3E and 4E titles may be granted hour for hour cash or time off at the appointing authority discretion. Exempt non-limited employees in NL and N4 titles have no entitlement to compensation for any of it. On call carries a further test: being required to stay at home or leave word where you can be reached is not work unless your freedom to engage in personal activities is severely restricted. The exceptional emergency provision is the one crack in the non-limited rule. An agency head declaring a critical service disruption that endangers health or safety may authorise cash overtime for non-limited employees in ranges below 32, and must file a justification within seven days and a named list within 30 days of the emergency ending.

Written by the NJ Civil Service Navigator editorial team from the text of N.J.A.C. 4A:3-5.7. It is a description of the rule, not the rule itself, and not legal advice.

(a) Eligibility for overtime compensation for on call employees shall be as follows: #

1. Employees in covered positions (35, 40, NE) who are required to remain on call and cannot use their own time effectively shall be considered to be working and shall have such on call time included in the total hours worked. In those situations where employees are merely required to remain at home or leave word with appropriate officials where they may be reached, they are not considered to be working while on call unless their freedom to engage in personal activities during that period is severely restricted. #

i. Overtime compensation at the rate of one and one-half times the regular rate or one and one-half hours for each hour worked in excess of the regular workweek shall only be payable for that period after total hours worked exceed 40 hours in a workweek. #

2. Employees in exempt positions (3E, 4E, NL, N4) shall have no entitlement to compensation for such time. #

(b) Eligibility for overtime compensation for training shall be as follows: #

1. Employees in covered positions (35, 40, NE) who are required by their employer to participate in job related training shall have such training time included in the total hours worked. #

ii. For time worked in excess of a 35 hour fixed workweek but not over 40 hours, hour for hour compensation may be granted in the form of cash or time off, at the discretion of the appointing authority. #

2. Employees in exempt fixed workweek positions (3E, 4E) may be granted hour for hour compensation in the form of cash or time off, at the discretion of the appointing authority. #

3. Employees in exempt non-limited positions (NL, N4) shall have no entitlement to compensation for such time. #

1. Employees in covered positions (35, 40, NE) who are required to travel contiguous to the normal workday in excess of normal commutation time shall have such hours included in the total hours worked. #

2. Employees in exempt fixed workweek positions (3E, 4E) may be granted hour for hour compensation in the form of cash or time off, at the discretion of the appointing authority. #

3. Employees in exempt non-limited positions (NL, N4) shall have no entitlement to compensation for such time. #

(d) Eligibility for overtime compensation for exceptional emergencies shall be as follows: #

1. When an agency head declares an exceptional emergency involving a critical service disruption that poses a danger to health or safety, he or she may authorize: #

i. Cash overtime compensation for non-limited employees in titles with established salary ranges below range 32 performing emergency related work. For these circumstances employees in non-limited titles shall be deemed to have a 40 hour workweek. #

ii. Overtime compensation for work not covered by the job specification. See N.J.A.C. 4A:3-5.3(c)3. #

2. An agency head shall file with the Chairperson or designee two reports concerning an exceptional emergency as follows: #

i. Within seven days of the declaration of the exceptional emergency, a fully detailed justification for the declaration. The report shall describe the critical services which could have been or were disrupted and what dangers were posed to health or safety. #

ii. Within 30 days of the conclusion of the exceptional emergency, a list of the names, titles, hours of work designations and number of hours of emergency related overtime work of employees who performed emergency related work on an overtime basis. #

3. These provisions shall not apply to work performed beyond the regular work hours on emergency maintenance, construction, snow removal, or other related work in situations that constitute unreasonable safety hazards to the public, employees, other persons, or property of the State. The Chairperson or designee shall establish emergency condition rates for these circumstances. #

(e) Eligibility for special project rate compensation shall be as follows: #

1. If an employee works on a part time, occasional, or sporadic basis, and solely at the employee's option, in a different capacity from which the employee is regularly employed, the hours employed in the different capacity shall be excluded from the calculation of the hours to which the employee is entitled to overtime compensation. Such employment may be paid at special project rates as approved by the Chairperson or designee. #

2. NL and N4 employees who perform extraordinary work activities on a limited or periodic basis necessitating work time beyond the general workweek in the same capacity from which the employee is regularly employed may be paid special project rates as approved by the Chairperson or designee. #

3. A fully detailed justification for a special project for which (e)1 or 2 above would be applicable must be filed with the Chairperson or designee for review and approval. #

Amendment history

Rule numbers, effective dates and New Jersey Register citations as published. 2 recorded changes.

May 15, 2017AmendedR.2017 d.100
48 N.J.R. 2653(a); 49 N.J.R. 1182(a); 52 N.J.R. 1110(a); 52 N.J.R. 1307(b)
September 7, 1993AmendedR.1993 d.424
25 N.J.R. 1916(a); 25 N.J.R. 4064(a)

How this rule has been applied

5 decisions have cited N.J.A.C. 4A:3-5.7. 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.

Superior Court (2)

State, Dept. of Corrections v. Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO240 N.J.Super. 26; 572 A.2d 213
State, Dept. of Corrections v. Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO240 N.J.Super. 26; 572 A.2d 213

Civil Service Commission final determinations (3)

In re Health Facility Survey & Field Ops., Dep't of Health2021 N.J. CSC LEXIS 516November 22, 2021
In re Moran, Dep't of Transp., CSC Docket No. 2021-1292021 N.J. CSC LEXIS 62Docket 2021-129February 23, 2021
In re McManus, Dep't of Envtl. Prot., CSC Docket No. 2020-8352020 N.J. CSC LEXIS 242Docket 2020-835April 17, 2020

This rule points to

4A:3-5.3 40 hours or less in a workweek: State service