NJ Civil Service Navigator

N.J.A.C. 4A:6-6.4 Commendation awards: State service

N.J.A.C. 4A:6-6.4, Commendation awards: State service. Commendation Awards shall be established in, but not limited to, the following four categories: 1. Heroism Awards may be made to employees who perform acts Full text with 1 recorded amendment, 1 citing decision.

Leaves, Hours of Work, and Employee Development · Awards Program

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

Four categories are named and the list is expressly open. Heroism awards go to acts of bravery or personal sacrifice of a life threatening nature above and beyond the duties of the position. Exceptional Service covers outstanding acts of public service beyond those duties, including appropriate responses to a crisis or emergency. Professional Achievement recognises meritorious or distinguished accomplishment that need not fall entirely within normal duties, such as establishing new methods or designs, winning honours from professional societies, or providing key assistance to an award recipient. Community Service covers outstanding contributions to the employee's own community or to the State through activity outside the workplace. For the first two categories it makes no difference whether the act happened during working hours. Anyone may nominate an employee or a group, though heroism nominations must be submitted within one year of the act, and the departmental committee investigates and votes before the Committee decides.

Written by the NJ Civil Service Navigator editorial team from the text of N.J.A.C. 4A:6-6.4. It is a description of the rule, not the rule itself, and not legal advice.

(a) Commendation Awards shall be established in, but not limited to, the following four categories: #

1. Heroism Awards may be made to employees who perform acts of bravery or personal sacrifice of a life threatening nature above and beyond the duties and responsibilities of the employee's position and which reflect credit upon the State of New Jersey, whether or not the act was performed during working hours. #

2. Exceptional Service Awards may be made to employees for outstanding acts of public service above and beyond the duties and responsibilities of the employee's position which shall include, but not be limited to, appropriate responses to a crisis or emergency situation and which reflect credit upon the State of New Jersey, whether or not the act was performed during working hours. #

3. Professional Achievement Awards may be made to employees in recognition of meritorious or distinguished accomplishments which need not fall entirely within the scope of normal duties. An award may be made to an employee who has: #

i. Initiated and successfully established new and outstanding methods, practices, plans or designs in such fields as, but not limited to, administration, engineering, law, medicine or environmental sciences; #

ii. Achieved honors from professional societies, educational institutions or recognized groups for outstanding performance in his or her field; or #

iii. Provided key assistance to the recipient of an award. #

4. Community Service Awards may be made to employees who have made outstanding contributions to the communities in which they live or to the State as a whole through organizational activities outside the workplace. #

(b) Employee commendation awards may be made to an employee or a group of employees. #

(c) A nomination for an employee commendation award may be submitted by an employee or by any other individual to the Committee along with supporting information. #

1. Nominations in the heroism category must be submitted within one year of the specified act. #

2. Upon receipt, the nomination will be reviewed by the Secretary and a letter of acknowledgement sent to the nominator. Copies of the nomination shall then be forwarded to the appropriate departmental committee(s) for investigation and recommendation. #

3. The departmental committee shall make a thorough investigation of the nomination and thereafter, by majority vote, recommend approval or disapproval. If the recommendation is for disapproval, the nomination shall be returned to the Secretary with an explanation of the reasons for disapproval, along with any supporting documents. If the departmental committee recommendation is for approval, the nomination with recommendations and supporting documentation shall be forwarded to the department's chief executive officer for endorsement. The nomination, with recommendations and supporting documents, shall then be returned to the Secretary. #

4. The Committee shall consider the nomination and the departmental committee's recommendation and decide whether or not an award should be made and the type of award. The Secretary shall advise the nominator, in writing, of the action of the Committee. Presentation ceremonies shall be arranged by the Secretary. #

Amendment history

Rule numbers, effective dates and New Jersey Register citations as published. 1 recorded change.

  1. AmendedR.1998 d.58

How this rule has been applied

1 decision has cited N.J.A.C. 4A:6-6.4. 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.

New Jersey Supreme Court (1)
  • 76 N.J. 234; 386 A.2d 8591978

Elsewhere in Awards Program