N.J.A.C. 4A:4-6.1 Examination and selection disqualification

You were disqualified from an examination or from appointment

Nine grounds allow a person to be denied examination eligibility or appointment: lacking the job requirements, being ineligible by law for the title, being physically or psychologically unfit to perform the duties effectively, failing to pass examination procedures, having been removed from the public service for disciplinary reasons after an opportunity for a hearing, making a false statement of material fact or attempting deception or fraud in any part of the selection or appointment process, having a prior employment history that relates adversely to the title, failing to pay the application processing fee or document an exemption in time, and other sufficient reasons. An injury incurred in the armed forces is not treated as a disqualification unless the Chairperson considers the condition incapacitating.

A criminal record is not on that list, which catches people out. The criminal record ground lives in the rule on removing names from an eligible list, where an eligible may be removed for a criminal record that adversely relates to the employment sought. Five factors are stated for deciding whether it does: the nature and seriousness of the crime, the circumstances in which it occurred, the date and the eligible's age at the time, whether it was an isolated event, and evidence of rehabilitation. Presenting a pardon or an expungement prohibits removal from the list, except for law enforcement, correction officer, correctional police officer, juvenile detention officer, firefighter and judiciary titles, and other titles the Chairperson may determine.

Two of the nine grounds have a good cause exit. Except where the law forbids it, a person disqualified for prior disciplinary removal or for a prior employment history relating adversely to the title may, for good cause, be admitted to an examination and, with the appointing authority's concurrence, certified for appointment. Both halves have to happen. Good cause reopens the examination; the appointing authority's agreement is a separate hurdle after it.

The disqualification can be used to reject an application, refuse to test you, refuse to place your name on a list, refuse to certify it, remove it from a list, remove you from employment, or take other appropriate action. That last one has a limit worth knowing: where the employee is permanent or serving a working test period, removal from employment goes through the major disciplinary procedures. The disqualification rule does not sidestep them.

The clock is not in this section, which is the practical trap. Disqualification takes effect on receipt of written notice, and the appeal belongs to the category of examination related matters. The 20-day filing period, and the requirement to file with the Commission representative identified on the notice advising of disqualification, are both set out separately. Medical and psychological disqualifications go somewhere else again, to their own appeal rule, and that is the one place in this area where the appointing authority carries the burden of proof rather than you: 20 days to appeal, then 90 days from filing to submit a report from a professional of your own choosing.

Filing does not pause anything. Unless the Commission or the Chairperson orders otherwise, an appeal does not affect the promulgation of a list, a certification or an appointment, so the vacancy can be filled while you are still arguing. And the ninth ground, other sufficient reasons, is left undefined in the rule.

Related on this site: /civil-service-exam, /eligibility-lists

Written by the NJ Civil Service Navigator editorial team. Every statement here traces to the rules cited on this page. It is not legal advice, and a collective agreement may change how these rules apply to you.