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N.J.A.C. 4A:3-5.9 Appointing authority responsibilities: State service

N.J.A.C. 4A:3-5.9, Appointing authority responsibilities: State service. Each appointing authority shall develop procedures for administering overtime that are consistent with this subchapter and at a minimum provide for: 1. Writ Full text with 2 recorded amendments, 1 citing decision.

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

Written authorisation comes first. Every appointing authority runs overtime under written procedures requiring authorisation in advance of the work and, where advance approval was genuinely not possible, in writing immediately afterwards. A department procedures and any later changes are filed with the Chairperson and approved before being promulgated, so an internal overtime policy is not purely internal. Thirteen categories of record have to be kept for each employee, from the day of the week the workweek begins to total overtime compensation for that week and the approved requests themselves. Compensatory time carries its own reporting obligation on demand, covering hours earned, hours used, the balance outstanding, amounts paid for unused time, and a justification for each grant. Overtime also has to be justified in the budget cycle, with the extent and reasoning for the past fiscal year, the current one and the year ahead, including the alternatives that would allow the work to be done on regular time.

Written by the NJ Civil Service Navigator editorial team from the text of N.J.A.C. 4A:3-5.9. It is a description of the rule, not the rule itself, and not legal advice.

(a) Each appointing authority shall develop procedures for administering overtime that are consistent with this subchapter and at a minimum provide for: #

1. Written authorization by the appointing authority or his or her designee in advance of overtime to be worked. Whenever circumstances are such that prior authorization is not possible, the overtime must be authorized in writing immediately thereafter; #

2. Records of approved overtime requests and work accomplished; #

3. Systems for continuous and periodic review of overtime requirements with a view toward accomplishing the work during regular work time; and #

4. Written procedures for supervisory personnel to follow in the authorization of either compensatory time or cash payment for overtime. #

(b) A copy of each department's procedures, written interpretations, and any subsequent changes are to be filed with the Chairperson or designee and approved prior to promulgation. #

(c) For budget requests, the appointing authority shall provide an annual summary to include the extent and justification for overtime required during the past fiscal year, current fiscal year, and the extent and justification of anticipated overtime during the next fiscal year. The latter shall be supported by a description of the work programs to be accomplished, the amount of hours and money involved, the circumstances dictating that it be overtime, and alternatives that would permit accomplishment of the overtime work on regular time. The instructions for the above shall be included in the "Manual for Preparation of Budget Request" which is published and distributed to all State agencies by the Office of Management and Budget in the Department of the Treasury. The appointing authority shall file a copy of this summary with the Chairperson or designee. #

(d) The following records shall be kept: #

1. Name of employee in full; #

2. Home address, including zip code; #

3. Date of birth, if under 19; #

4. Sex and occupation; #

5. Time of day and day of week on which the employee's workweek begins; #

6. Regular hourly rate of pay in any workweek in which overtime premium is due, or other basis of wage payment (such as "$ 5.00 hr.," "$ 40.00 day," "$ 200.00 wk."); #

7. Daily and weekly hours of work; #

8. Total daily or weekly straight time earnings; #

9. Total overtime compensation for the workweek; #

10. Total additions to or deductions from wages paid; #

11. Total wages paid each pay period; #

12. Date of payment and the pay period covered by payment; and #

13. Approved overtime requests and a summary of work accomplished. #

(e) Upon demand, the appointing authority shall make available to the Chairperson or designee all records and accounts of overtime work at the time(s) and location(s) specified. #

(f) Upon demand for reports of compensatory time off or comparable time off, the appointing authority shall make available to the Chairperson or designee the following items: #

1. The names, titles and salary ranges of employees receiving compensatory time off or comparable time off; #

2. The names, titles and salary ranges of employees receiving payment for unused compensatory time off or comparable time off, the amount paid to each such employee, and the number of hours on which the payment was based; #

3. The number of days on which compensatory time off or comparable time off was earned; #

4. The total number of hours each employee worked beyond the normal workweek; #

5. The total number of hours of compensatory time off or comparable time off earned by each employee; #

6. The total number of hours of compensatory time off or comparable time off used by each employee; #

7. The balance of unused compensatory time off or comparable time off for each employee; and #

8. A justification for the granting of compensatory time off or comparable time off for each employee. #

(g) Procedures for payments of compensable overtime will be published as part of the payroll manual. #

Amendment history

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

  1. AmendedR.2017 d.100
    48 N.J.R. 2653(a); 49 N.J.R. 1182(a)
  2. AmendedR.1993 d.44
    24 N.J.R. 3588(a); 25 N.J.R. 290(a)

How this rule has been applied

1 decision has cited N.J.A.C. 4A:3-5.9. 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 (1)
  • Heulitt v. Board of Review, Dept. of Labor300 N.J.Super. 407; 693 A.2d 155

Elsewhere in Overtime Compensation