Articles Tagged with New Jersey Civil Service Appeals

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An appellate court recently issued two opinions in appeals from the New Jersey Civil Service Commission regarding the termination of three police officers sought by the Jersey City Police Department because the officers were positive for marijuana use in urinalysis tests.  In the decisions, the court set a line between when termination is allowed and when prohibited under New Jersey’s regulation of marijuana use.joe-b-300x200

Three Positive Urinalysis Tests

The three officers, Norhan Mansour, Omar Polanco and Montavious Patten, all had positive results for marijuana from urinalysis tests.  In subsequent interviews with Jersey City Police Department Internal Affairs investigators, they admitted the use.  Officers Mansour said that he had purchased the marijuana at a legal dispensary and produced receipts.  Officer Polanco also stated that he had purchased the marijuana at a legal dispensary but did not have receipts.  Officer Patten purchased the marijuana from a friend named “Sal,” who told Patten that he had purchased it from a legal dispensary.  There was no allegation that the officers were under the influence of marijuana on the job.

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New Jersey civil service law provides employees with an effective avenue for appealing adverse employment decisions to the New Jersey Civil Service Commission.  However, in the case of Matter of Trejo, Police Officer and Union City, a New Jersey appeals court held that an employee may be removed from a civil service hiring list for a negative prior employee disciplinary history.  Thissupreme-administrative-court-3565618_960_720-300x200 decision has significant implications for how employees should handle allegations of misconduct and resulting discipline.

Background

Ana Trejo was a public safety telecommunicator with the Union City Police Department for ten years when she took the civil service examination for police officer.  She passed and was placed on the eligible list.  However, Union City removed Trejo from the list because of her history of civil service employee discipline during her ten year employment as a telecommunicator with the Police Department.  Her disciplinary history included minor discipline for absenteeism; being reprimanded for sharing confidential law enforcement information; and imposition of major discipline for “inappropriate conduct.”  The New Jersey Civil Service Commission gave notice to Trejo that she had been removed from the list for having an “unsatisfactory employment record.”

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Appellate Division Demonstrates Why It Makes Sense to Pursue Civil Service Disciplinary Appeals.

New Jersey civil service employees have protections which other employees do not.  The heart of this is the opportunity to appeal major discipline imposed by their employers.  A recentcop New Jersey appellate decision in the case of In the Matter of Malikah Spencer, Essex County, Department of Corrections, demonstrates that this process gives New Jersey civil service employees a fair hearing in these appeals, and demonstrates why civil service employees should pursue appeals of employer imposed major discipline.

Background

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How a New Jersey Civil Service employee’s separation from service is characterized, either “in good standing” or “not in good standing,” has significant consequences, particularly on the employee’s ability to obtain future government employment, and may even effect her employment in the private sector.  Moreover, if the employee iscouncil-of-state-535721__340-300x103 found to have abandoned her position she may be involuntarily terminated.  Thus, the right to appeal these characterizations is important.

When a Resignation is Considered to be in Good Standing

Obviously, civil service employees want their separations to be considered in good standing, which will allow them to be reemployed.  This will also allow them to answer that they resigned in good standing when asked at job interviews even for private sector jobs.  For a resignation to be considered “in good standing” the requirements under New Jersey civil service law are that the employee actually was in good standing when she resigned and that she gave her employer at least 14 days notice, either verbally or in writing (the employer may consent to shorter notice which would allow the resignation to be in good standing despite a shorter notice period).  The resignation is considered accepted when the notice is received by the employer. The employer may allow an employee to rescind her resignation prior to the employee’s last day.

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New Jersey disability laws apply to civil service employment decisions such as hiring and promotion.  However, applicants with physical or psychological conditions must still be able to perform the essential functions of their prospective jobs with reasonable accommodation.  Fortunately, New Jersey civil service law provides a process tocomputer-300x200 protect the rights of applicants while ensuring that they are able to provide the vital public services of their prospective positions.

The Hiring and Promotion Process

The Civil Service Commission’s Regulations provide for disqualification from employment if an applicant:

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New Jersey Civil Service law gives significant protections to government employees in jurisdictions which have adopted civil service. It provides an appeals process that private sector employees and government employees inimagesCAWQ89PS jurisdictions which have not adopted civil service do not enjoy.  Most government employment decisions which do not involve minor discipline can be appealed to the New Jersey Civil Service Commission.  Beyond that, decisions of the Civil Service Commission may be appealed to New Jersey’s appellate courts.

The Appeal Process

New Jersey Civil Service Commission decisions are considered “final agency actions”  which may be appealed directly to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey “as of right.” This means that the Appellate Division has no discretion in whether to hear the case or not – it must hear the appeal.  Appeals to the Appellate Division from final decisions of the Civil Service Commission must be filed in writing within 45 days after the decision.

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New Jersey Civil Service Law provides an effective appeals process for employees to use when challenging discipline imposed by their employers.  This was recently illustrated in the case of In the Matter of Sherman Abrams, Northern State Prison, Department of Corrections.us-1978465__340-300x200

 

Background: The Abrams Case

Sherman Abrams was, and apparently still is, an operating engineer working for the New Jersey Department of Corrections (DOC) at Northern State Prison.  He did not report to work on October 31, November 1, and November 2, 2017.  He received a Preliminary Notice of Disciplinary Action (a “PNDA,” a Civil Service Commission Form 31-A) for excessive absenteeism and unauthorized absences.  The DOC thereafter issued a Final Notice of Disciplinary Action (a “FNDA,” a Civil Service Commission Form 31-B) terminating his employment.

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A recent appellate opinion in the case of In the Matter of Ambroise demonstrates that New Jersey civil service employees will receive a fair hearing in appeals with the New Jersey’s Civil Service Commission and appeals courts.us-supreme-court-300x200

Background

Ambroise was terminated as a senior correctional police officer (SCPO) by the New Jersey Department of Corrections (DOC).  The DOC alleged that Ambroise engaged in oral sex with an inmate at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women.

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A recent New Jersey employment law decision examined the procedures for reopening a Civil Service disciplinary appeal because of newly discovered evidence.

The Newsom Case

In the case of In the Matter of Kevin Newsom, New Jersey State Prison, Kevin Newsom, a civil service employee, was terminated as a corrections sergeant by the Newdc-court-appeals-district-columbia-building-abraham-lincoln-statue-74985350 Jersey State Prison.

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Background.   New Jersey Civil Service exists remove favoritism, nepotism, politics and other improper considerations from employment decisions.  This includes Civil Service discipline.  Because Civil Service employers are governmental entities, due process and fundamental fairness protections govern discipline.supreme-administrative-court-3565618_960_720-300x200

As far back as 1961, the Appellate Division gave a good summary of Civil Service disciplinary procedures.

Disciplinary proceedings against a civil servant are not only an attempt to determine the status of a particular individual; they are a statutorily authorized action to redress a wrong committed against the people of the State by one in whom the public trust has been officially reposed. The proceedings are therefore penal, or at least quasi-penal, in nature, and deeply embedded constructional principles, supported by fundamental notions of fairness, dictate that in such an action the statute or regulation defining the alleged violation be construed to comport with the fair meaning of the language used. The theme of fairness threads its way through the notice, hearing, and right of appeal provisions of our Civil Service Act, and finds particular pertinence in those sections requiring that the causes for removal constituting ‘just cause’ be enumerated with specificity. The governing consideration, that one be fairly and completely advised of the nature of the charges against him, loses all effectiveness if it is not reinforced by a requirement that the proscribed activities and contingencies warranting disciplinary proceedings be set forth with reasonable particularity and construed accordingly.

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