NJ Civil Service Navigator

N.J.A.C. 4A:6-1.10 Leave without pay: State service

N.J.A.C. 4A:6-1.10, Leave without pay: State service. In State service, an appointing authority may, with approval from the Chairperson or designee, grant leaves of absence without pay to permanent employees fo Full text with 4 recorded amendments, 5 citing decisions, cited by 3 other rules.

Leaves, Hours of Work, and Employee Development · Leaves of Absence

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 year is the ceiling, and even that takes two approvals. In State service an appointing authority may grant a permanent employee a leave of absence without pay for up to a year, with approval from the Chairperson or a designee, and anything longer requires an exceptional situation plus written approval. Nonpermanent career service employees run on much shorter terms: exceptional situations only, no more than six biweekly pay periods or the equivalent, nothing continuing past termination of the appointment, and the leave may be ended at any time. Personal illness or disability can extend it by up to six further months. Senior executive and unclassified employees may be granted up to a year at the discretion of the appointing authority. An employee may be allowed back before the leave runs out. Leave for union office is the exception to all of these limits and may run longer where the negotiated agreement provides for it, as 4A:6-1.16 confirms.

Written by the NJ Civil Service Navigator editorial team from the text of N.J.A.C. 4A:6-1.10. It is a description of the rule, not the rule itself, and not legal advice.

(a) In State service, an appointing authority may, with approval from the Chairperson or designee, grant leaves of absence without pay to permanent employees for a period not to exceed one year unless otherwise provided by statute. A leave may be extended beyond one year for exceptional situations upon request by the appointing authority and written approval by the Chairperson or designee. #

1. An appointing authority may, with approval from the Chairperson or designee, grant leaves of absence without pay to nonpermanent career service State employees for exceptional situations. Such leaves shall not exceed six biweekly pay-periods, or the equivalent, and shall not continue beyond termination of the appointment. Such leaves may be extended up to an additional six months, upon request of the appointing authority and written approval by the Chairperson or designee, in cases of personal illness or disability. Leave without pay for nonpermanent employees may be terminated at any time. #

2. Leave for union office for permanent and nonpermanent employees, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 4A:6-1.16, may be for periods longer than those specified in (a) and (a)1 above, as provided in the negotiated agreement. #

(b) Employees in the senior executive and unclassified service may be granted leaves of absence without pay up to one year, at the discretion of the appointing authority. #

(c) An appointing authority may permit an employee to return from a leave of absence without pay prior to its conclusion. #

(d) Appointing authorities shall set procedures subject to review by the Chairperson or designee for leave without pay. #

(e) For family leave under State law, see N.J.A.C. 4A:6-1.21A. For Federal family and medical leave, see N.J.A.C. 4A:6-1.21B. #

Amendment history

Rule numbers, effective dates and New Jersey Register citations as published. 4 recorded changes.

  1. AmendedR.2016 d.171
    48 N.J.R. 5(a); 48 N.J.R. 2775(b)
  2. AmendedR.1994 d.620
    26 N.J.R. 3511(a); 26 N.J.R. 5002(b)
  3. AmendedR.1990 d.387
    22 N.J.R. 1300(b); 22 N.J.R. 2263(a)
  4. AmendedR.1989 d.29
    20 N.J.R. 133(a); 21 N.J.R. 19(a)

How this rule has been applied

5 decisions have cited N.J.A.C. 4A:6-1.10. 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.

Appellate Division (1)
  • Zamboni v. Stamler199 N.J.Super. 378; 489 A.2d 1169
Civil Service Commission final determinations (3)
  • In re McCabe, Dep't of Human Servs., CSC Docket No. 2019-10152019 N.J. CSC LEXIS 146Docket 2019-1015
  • In re Graf, Corrs. Officer Recruit, Dep't of Corrs., CSC Docket No. 2018-32832018 N.J. CSC LEXIS 474Docket 2018-3283
  • In re Jardine et al, Dep't of Corrs., CSC Docket Nos. 2014-1810 and 2014-1811 (Consolidated)2014 N.J. CSC LEXIS 496Docket 2014-1810 and 2014-1811
Office of Administrative Law initial decisions (1)
  • (CONSOLIDATED)2017 N.J. AGEN LEXIS 722

This rule points to

Rules that point here

Elsewhere in Leaves of Absence