N.J.A.C. 4A:6-2 Hours of Work
Every section of N.J.A.C. 4A:6-2, Hours of Work: 9 rules with full text, amendment history and citing decisions.
- 4A:6-2.1General provisions
Local appointing authorities set their own hours of work, subject to whatever negotiations requirements apply. State service is where the detail sits. This subchapter reaches every State employee in the career, senior executive and unclassified service, and the number of hours making up the normal workweek for each job title is stated in the State compensation plan rather than settled agency by agency. What the subchapter does not do is govern pay. Overtime and holiday pay procedures for State service are at N.J.A.C. 4A:3-5.1 and following, which is where a question about being paid for extra hours actually goes.
- 4A:6-2.2Fixed workweek (35, 40, 3E or 4E) job titles: State service
Four things have to be true at once before a State job title is assigned a fixed workweek. The schedule is consistently regular, amenable to administrative control, and set by a supervisor rather than by the nature of the service, with employees having minimal discretion over it. The hours conform to the standard pattern of work time for the typical work location. Employees normally work under direct supervision within a formal work program at a State office or place of business, with field work away from direct supervision kept minimal. And the appointing authority can certify with assurance when somebody has worked beyond the normal week. Titles clearing all four are designated 35 or 40 hours. Titles exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act are designated 3E or 4E instead, so the E marks the exemption rather than a different number of hours.
- 4A:6-2.2ALaw enforcement work schedule (4L): State service
Overtime begins on the 172nd hour. State law enforcement titles may be put on a 28-day cycle rather than a weekly schedule, under 29 U.S.C. 207(k), and titles assigned that schedule are designated 4L. Four criteria qualify a title: uniformed or plainclothes membership in a body of officers and subordinates, power under statute or local ordinance to enforce laws maintaining public peace and protecting life and property, the power to arrest, and a special course of instruction or on-the-job training covering matters such as self defence, firearm proficiency, criminal and civil law, investigative technique and medical aid. Everyone meeting the criteria counts as engaged in law enforcement activities whatever their rank and whether they are trainee, probationary or permanent. The tour of duty must total at least 160 hours in the cycle and may not exceed 171, so a week over 40 hours does not by itself create overtime. Compensation otherwise follows the 40 hour rules at N.J.A.C. 4A:3-5.5.
- 4A:6-2.3Non-limited (NL, NE or N4) job titles: State service
Irregular hours, by design. A non-limited title in State service is one with irregular or variable work hours, and five categories are assigned one: titles carrying direct or delegated responsibility for managing a State governmental unit or a professional level program, including deputies and staff administrative titles at management levels; non-management titles that miss any of the fixed workweek criteria at N.J.A.C. 4A:6-2.2; sworn unclassified State Police employees; military titles in the Department of Defense supporting National Guard units; and titles whose schedules swing considerably between a prime and a slack season. Three designations follow. NL means at least a 35 hour week with occasional longer weeks to finish projects or assignments, N4 means the same thing starting at 40 hours, and NE marks non-limited titles that are subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act.
- 4A:6-2.4Holidays: State service
Holidays authorised by law or Executive Order are days off with regular pay for full-time State employees, and part-time employees working a constant percentage of a full week receive holiday leave credit in proportion. Intermittent employees are handled by formula: hours in regular pay status that pay period, divided by what a full-time employee would work in it, multiplied by the holiday hours, paid at the end of the bi-weekly period. An intermittent employee who resigns, is removed or is laid off before the last day of that period receives no holiday pay for it. A holiday falling on a Saturday is observed the preceding Friday, and one falling on a Sunday the following Monday. Pay turns on being in pay status the day immediately before, and a voluntary furlough or furlough extension leave that day does not forfeit it as long as the employee is in pay status during the pay period containing the holiday.
- 4A:6-2.5Inclement weather or emergency conditions: State service
The Governor, or the Governor's designee, decides in consultation with the Office of Emergency Management whether inclement weather or another adverse situation requires curtailing State operations, and whether the curtailment is Statewide, regional or narrower. The same determination says whether teleworking is possible during it. If it is, employees approved for their appointing authority's telework program are required to telework, whether or not they were scheduled to work remotely that day, and an employee who cannot perform their duties remotely must notify the appointing authority immediately and make alternative arrangements. Each department reviews its essential attendance criteria yearly, notifies designated employees and gives them the Essential Employee Attendance Plan by October 31, and files its updated roster with the Commission and affected unions by November 15. Essential attendance employees required to work under the plan are paid at their regular rate; overtime for non-exempt employees comes from N.J.A.C. 4A:3-5.1 and following.
- 4A:6-2.6Flexitime programs: State service
Flexitime divides the day into core time, when everybody must be present, and flexible time on either side of it, when employees choose their arrival and departure subject to appointing authority approval. The meal period may vary in length and scheduling too. State appointing authorities may set these programs up and may limit them to selected job titles, work units or locations for operational reasons. Two things do not move: the workweek the Commission assigned the title, and overtime, which is regulated the same way it is for everyone else. Nothing is established, modified or terminated without the Chairperson's approval, requested at least 30 days ahead and carrying nine specified items, among them the core and flexible time details, the participation procedures, at least two weeks notice of termination, and the monitoring plan. A program may be suspended for operational needs, with a detailed justification and duration owed to the Chairperson within 10 days.
- 4A:6-2.7Alternative workweek programs: State service
Unlike flexitime, this one is not optional: State appointing authorities shall establish alternative workweek programs, such as a four-day week, to meet operational or employee needs. A program may run year-round or for part of a year, and participation may be limited to selected titles, units or locations. Newcomers wait. An eligible new or transferred employee joins after successfully completing the working test period, or 120 calendar days after the effective date of appointment where no working test period applies. Assigned workweeks are retained, and sick, vacation and administrative leave schedules for participants need the Chairperson's approval. Because a compressed day is longer or shorter than a five-day one, holidays create a time differential the appointing authority equalises, and a holiday landing on a regular day off earns another day off. Approval, the 30-day advance request and the suspension procedure track N.J.A.C. 4A:6-2.6. Overtime follows the general rule except as N.J.A.C. 4A:3-5.3 provides.
- 4A:6-2.8Adjusted hours of operation: State service
Shifting when the doors open rather than how long anyone works. A State appointing authority may adjust the established hours of daily or shift operations to meet operational or employee needs, and the workweek the Commission assigned to affected titles stays what it was. Except for emergency situations of limited duration, no adjustment takes effect without the Chairperson's approval. The request should go in at least 30 days ahead with six items: the justification, the impact on the public or agency clientele, employees and the community including traffic flow, the details of the adjustment, the work locations and approximate number of employees affected, provision for at least two weeks written notice to employees, and a named program administrator. Consultation with affected negotiations representatives should happen before implementation.