N.J.A.C. 4A:4-6 Examination and Selection Disqualification and Appeals
Every section of N.J.A.C. 4A:4-6, Examination and Selection Disqualification and Appeals: 6 rules with full text, amendment history and citing decisions.
- 4A:4-6.1Examination and selection disqualification
Nine grounds on which a person may be denied examination eligibility or appointment, and the ninth is a catch-all for other sufficient reasons. The specific eight: lacking the job requirements, being ineligible by law for employment in the title, being physically or psychologically unfit to perform the duties of the title effectively, having failed to pass examination procedures, having been removed from public service for disciplinary reasons after an opportunity for a hearing, having made a false statement of material fact or attempted deception or fraud in any part of the selection or appointment process, having a prior employment history that relates adversely to the title, and not paying the application processing fee on time. An injury incurred in the armed forces is not a disqualification unless the Chairperson or designee considers the condition incapacitating. Two grounds are not absolute. Prior disciplinary removal and adverse employment history may both be set aside for good cause, admitting the person to the examination and, with the concurrence of the appointing authority, certifying them for appointment. Any action under this section takes effect on receipt of the written notice of disqualification.
- 4A:4-6.2Actions against disqualified persons
One finding, seven possible consequences, and they land at very different points in a career. A disqualification may produce rejection of the examination application, a refusal to test the person, a refusal to place the name on an eligible list, a refusal to certify the name, removal of the name from a list already promulgated, removal from employment, or other appropriate action. The last two are the ones with something guarding them. Removing an employee who is permanent or serving in a working test period runs through major disciplinary procedures, so the protections of a disciplinary case attach rather than falling away because the underlying finding was called a disqualification.
- 4A:4-6.3Examination and selection appeals
Which appeal you are filing decides which rule governs it, and this section does the routing. Examination items, scoring and administration go to 4A:4-6.4. Medical or psychological disqualification goes to 4A:4-6.5. Everything else goes to 4A:4-6.6, including a disqualification under 4A:4-6.1, list extension or revival, and denial of veterans preference for a particular examination. Burden of proof follows the same split: the appellant carries it, except on medical or psychological disqualification appeals, where the appointing authority carries it. Filing freezes nothing. Unless the Commission or the Chairperson orders otherwise, a list is still promulgated, a certification still issues and an appointment is still made while the appeal is pending. Someone appealing an examination disqualification may where appropriate be admitted to the examination, but the results are not processed while the review runs. Appeals are in writing and must give the examination title and symbol number where appropriate, the action being appealed, the specific objections and the relief requested, with copies served on every other party.
- 4A:4-6.4Review of examination items, scoring, and administration
One deadline in this section expires the same day the examination does: a challenge to the manner in which an examination was administered must be filed in writing at the examination site, on the day of the examination. Item and scoring appeals run on two tracks. For multiple choice, there are five business days after the test to telephone Commission staff and book a review of the keyed test booklet, then five business days after the date of review, or five business days from the test date for candidates who did not review, to appeal in writing against a keyed response or the job-relatedness of the test content, naming the questions challenged. A second window opens 20 days after the notice date of results for reviewing your own papers and the scoring key, but appeals in that window are limited to the scoring of your test paper. For tests other than multiple choice the booking window is the same five business days and the appeal window is 20 days from the review, or 20 days from the notice of results without one. Copying questions is not permitted.
- 4A:4-6.5Medical and/or psychological disqualification appeals
This is the one examination appeal where the appointing authority carries the burden of proof rather than the candidate. It has to support a removal request with a report and recommendation signed by a physician, psychologist or psychiatrist licensed in New Jersey or qualified and employed in the Clinical Psychologist title series, and it pays for any examination it orders. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act it may only require the examination after an offer of employment and before appointment, and only where every eligible offered the job is examined, with the results kept as a confidential medical record on separate forms. Once Commission staff give notice of disqualification there are 20 days to appeal, and no appeal means the name comes off the list. The deadlines then run both ways: the appointing authority has 20 days to hand over all the background and every report behind the request, and missing that can get the removal request denied and the name kept on the list. The appellant has 90 calendar days to submit a report from a professional of their own choosing.
- 4A:4-6.6Disqualification appeals
Twenty days from notice of the action, decision or situation being appealed. That single deadline covers every examination appeal that is not a scoring, item or administration challenge under 4A:4-6.4 and not a medical or psychological disqualification under 4A:4-6.5, which makes it the deadline for a disqualification under 4A:4-6.1 and for a removal from an eligible list. The appeal is filed with the Commission representative named on the notice advising of the disqualification, and the Commission decides on the written record or by whatever other proceeding it considers appropriate. One thing is carved out entirely: non-selection for an advancement appointment is not an examination appeal, and runs as a grievance instead.