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N.J.A.C. 4A:8-1.5 Layoff units and job locations

N.J.A.C. 4A:8-1.5, Layoff units and job locations. In State service, the layoff unit shall be a department or autonomous agency and include all programs administered by that department or agency. An autonomo Full text with 7 recorded amendments, 4 citing decisions.

Layoffs · Procedures

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

How wide the layoff unit is decides who an employee can displace, and the width differs by service. In State service the unit is an entire department or autonomous agency and takes in every programme it administers; in the Judiciary it is a vicinage or the Central Office. In local service the default is narrower: a single department of a county or municipality, an entire autonomous agency, or an entire school district. A local unit can be widened to cover more than one department, but only by a determination of the Chairperson made before the layoff plan is due, after a comment period of at least 20 days for affected employees and negotiations representatives, weighing the effect on employee layoff rights among other factors. Job location is a separate idea. In State service each job location is a county, and the Chairperson assigns one to every facility and office. In local service the whole political subdivision is one job location, including any facility it runs outside its own borders.

Written by the NJ Civil Service Navigator editorial team from the text of N.J.A.C. 4A:8-1.5. It is a description of the rule, not the rule itself, and not legal advice.

(a) In State service, the layoff unit shall be a department or autonomous agency and include all programs administered by that department or agency. An autonomous agency is one which is in, but not under the supervision of, a principal department. #

(b) In the Judiciary, the layoff unit shall be a vicinage or the Central Office and include all programs administered by that vicinage or Central Office. #

(c) In local service, the layoff unit shall be a department in a county or municipality, an entire autonomous agency (see N.J.A.C. 4A:8-2.1(c)1i), or an entire school district. However, prior to the time set by N.J.A.C. 4A:8-1.4 for submission of information to the Civil Service Commission, a different layoff unit consisting of one or more departments may be approved by the Chairperson under the following procedures: #

1. A request may be submitted by an appointing authority to the Chairperson or the matter may be initiated by the Chairperson. #

2. Notice of the request shall be provided by the appointing authority to affected negotiations representatives upon submission to the Chairperson. #

3. After receipt of the request, the Chairperson shall specify a period of time, which in no event shall be less than 20 days, during which affected employees and negotiations representatives may submit written comment and recommendations. #

4. Thereafter, the Chairperson shall issue a determination approving, modifying, or rejecting the proposed layoff unit, after considering: #

i. The need for a unit larger than a department; #

ii. The functional and organizational structure of the local jurisdiction; #

iii. The number of employees, funding source and job titles in the proposed unit; #

iv. The effect upon employee layoff rights; and #

v. The impact upon service to departmental clientele and the public. #

(d) In State service, the Chairperson or designee shall determine job locations within each department or autonomous agency. #

1. Each job location shall consist of a county. #

2. The Chairperson or designee shall assign a job location to every facility and office within a department or autonomous agency. #

3. In the Judiciary, each vicinage, and the Central Office, shall be considered a separate job location. #

4. See N.J.A.C. 4A:8-2.2 for exercise of lateral and demotional rights within job locations. See N.J.A.C. 4A:8-2.3 for exercise of special reemployment rights within job locations. #

(e) In local service, the entire political subdivision is the job location and includes any facility operated by the political subdivision outside its geographic borders. #

Amendment history

Rule numbers, effective dates and New Jersey Register citations as published. 7 recorded changes.

  1. AmendedR.2016 d.174
    48 N.J.R. 12(a); 48 N.J.R. 2780(a)
  2. AmendedR.2010 d.221
    42 N.J.R. 1278(a); 42 N.J.R. 2406(a)
  3. AmendedR.2003 d.304
    35 N.J.R. 345(a); 35 N.J.R. 3551(b)
  4. AmendedR.2000 d.12
    31 N.J.R. 2827(a); 32 N.J.R. 39(a)
  5. AmendedR.1995 d.251
    27 N.J.R. 612(a); 27 N.J.R. 1967(b)
  6. date not statedPetition for rulemaking
    41 N.J.R. 4833(b)
  7. date not statedPetition for rulemaking
    42 N.J.R. 1085(a)

How this rule has been applied

4 decisions have cited N.J.A.C. 4A:8-1.5. 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)
  • Board of Public Utilities. In re Donohue329 N.J.Super. 488; 748 A.2d 598
Civil Service Commission final determinations (3)
  • In re Mingo, Newark Sch. Dist., CSC Docket No. 2014-7912014 N.J. CSC LEXIS 493Docket 2014-791
  • In re Doty et al., Sussex Cnty., CSC Docket Nos. 2013-9322013 N.J. CSC LEXIS 1156Docket 2013-932
  • In re Grady Butts, Salem Cnty., CSC Dkt. No. 2013-2382013 N.J. CSC LEXIS 573

This rule points to

Elsewhere in Procedures