Bill Text: NJ A1039 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Makes various changes to civil service law concerning seasonal appointments, temporary layoffs, and rescinding adoption of civil service.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 4-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-10 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State Government Committee [A1039 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-A1039-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
215th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2012 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ANTHONY M. BUCCO
District 25 (Morris and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
Makes various changes to civil service law concerning seasonal appointments, temporary layoffs, and rescinding adoption of civil service.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning civil service matters, amending various parts of the statutory law and supplementing Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. N.J.S.11A:4-13 is amended to read as follows:
11A:4-13. Types of appointment. The commission shall provide for the following types of appointment:
a. Regular appointments shall be to a title in the competitive division of the career service upon examination and certification or to a title in the noncompetitive division of the career service upon appointment. The appointments shall be permanent after satisfactory completion of a working test period;
b. Provisional appointments shall be made only in the competitive division of the career service and only in the absence of a complete certification, if the appointing authority certifies that in each individual case the appointee meets the minimum qualifications for the title at the time of appointment and that failure to make a provisional appointment will seriously impair the work of the appointing authority. In no case shall any provisional appointment exceed a period of 12 months;
c. Temporary appointments may be made, without regard to the provisions of this chapter, to temporary positions established for a period aggregating not more than six months in a 12-month period as approved by the chairperson of the commission. These positions include, but are not limited to, seasonal positions. Seasonal positions may be established for a maximum of nine months in a 12-month period if the appointing authority has submitted the applicable list of seasonal titles to the chairperson and the chairperson has approved them. Positions established as a result of a short-term grant may be established for a maximum of 12 months. Appointees to temporary positions shall meet the minimum qualifications of a title;
d. Emergency appointments shall not exceed 30 days and shall only be permitted where nonappointment will result in harm to persons or property;
e. Senior executive service appointments shall be made pursuant to N.J.S.11A:3-3; and
f. Unclassified appointments shall be made pursuant to N.J.S.11A:3-4 and N.J.S.11A:3-5.
(cf: P.L.2008, c.29, s.39)
2. (New section) a. An appointing authority in State or local service may institute a temporary layoff for economy, efficiency, or other related reasons. A temporary layoff shall be defined as: (1) the closure of an entire layoff unit for one or more work days over a defined period; or (2) a staggered layoff of each employee in a layoff unit for one or more work days over a defined period. A temporary layoff shall be considered a single layoff action even though the layoff of individual employees takes place on different days during the defined period. The defined period shall be set forth by the appointing authority in its temporary layoff plan; however, in a staggered layoff, the maximum period to stagger one day off shall not exceed 45 days.
b. A temporary layoff may, with the approval of the chairperson, be subject to limited exceptions when necessary to ensure continued public health and safety, including but not limited to child welfare, law enforcement, and care for prisoners, patients, and other residents in the care or custody of the State or local government.
c. In a temporary layoff, no employee in the layoff unit, whether career, senior executive, or unclassified, shall be paid for any work day that is designated as a temporary layoff day. Any employee who is designated as exempt from a temporary layoff day pursuant to subsection b. of this section shall be paid the employee's regular wages for working on that day.
d. A temporary layoff plan shall be submitted to the chairperson at least 15 days prior to the issuance of temporary layoff notices, or such other period as permitted by the chairperson. The temporary layoff plan shall describe the implementation of the temporary layoff, including the specific day or days on which the layoff unit will be closed, any exceptions pursuant to subsection b. of this section, and, if staggered, the reasons for not closing the entire layoff unit on a specific day, and the staffing plan for implementing a staggered temporary layoff. Part-time employees shall be designated for a proportional amount of temporary layoff time, consistent with the ratio of hours worked to full-time employment. In a staggered temporary layoff, the appointing authority shall be permitted, in its sole discretion, to designate as unpaid temporary layoff time any planned or unplanned leave time taken by an employee during the defined layoff period, up to the maximum temporary layoff time for that defined layoff period. Employees shall not be permitted to substitute any paid leave for an unpaid temporary layoff day.
e. For purposes of accrual of leave time, anniversary dates, paid holidays, and seniority, temporary layoff time shall be treated as if the employee is in pay status. An employee serving a working test period shall have the working test period extended for the time equal to the temporary layoff time. A leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act or other leave for medical or family reasons shall not be affected by a temporary layoff. An alternate work week program may be suspended for pay periods in which a temporary layoff is implemented.
f. Because a temporary layoff is intended to apply equally to all employees in the layoff unit subject only to the exception and staggered schedules set forth in this section, subsections b. (seniority), d. (job location), e. (lateral and demotional title rights), f. (application of lateral and demotional title rights within job locations), g. (exercise of lateral and demotional title rights), and h. (special reemployment rights) of N.J.S.11A:8-1 shall not be applicable to a temporary layoff.
3. (New section) A county or municipality operating under the provisions of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes may rescind the adoption in the county or municipality of the provisions of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes upon either:
a. the clerk of the county or municipality submitting the question of rescinding the provisions of Title 11A of the New Jersey to the voters of the county or municipality upon the filing of a petition with the clerk requesting the rescission. The petition shall be signed by the registered voters of the county or municipality equal in number to at least 15% of the valid votes cast in the county or municipality at the last preceding general election. Each name shall be printed and signed and the place of residence indicated by street and number or other description sufficient to identify the place. At the bottom of each separate page of the petition, there shall be printed an affidavit, which shall be signed by the circulator of that page that the circulator, and only the circulator, personally circulated the page, that all signatures to the petition appearing on that page were made in the circulator's presence, and that the circulator believes them to be genuine signatures of the persons whose names they purport to be. If a rescission petition is presented to a prospective petition signer by a part print advertisement, paid mailing, or paid solicitor, the petition and any appeal for the signature of such a prospective signer shall disclose prominently (1) the identity of the person paying for the printed or personal solicitation, and (2) that the solicitor is paid; or
b. the adoption of an ordinance by the governing body of the municipality, or the adoption of a resolution by the governing body of the county, rescinding the provisions of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes.
4. (New section) a. Within 10 days from the date of filing the petition, the clerk shall, in conjunction with and with the cooperation of the commissioner of registration of the appropriate county, complete an examination and ascertain whether or not the petition is signed by the requisite number of qualified voters, shall attach to the petition a certificate showing the result of the examination, and, in the case of a municipal clerk, shall transmit to the county clerk a notice that the question of rescission has been qualified for submission to the voters, including with that notice a copy of the certificate. The question shall be submitted at the next general election, or alternatively in the case of a municipality in which municipal elections are held the next municipal election, occurring on or after the 60th day following the date on which the clerk shall have issued the certificate. The municipal or county clerk, as appropriate, shall cause the question to be printed upon the ballots to be used at the election.
b. The clerk shall, prior to an election at which the question of rescinding the adoption of the provisions of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes is to be submitted to the voters give public notice of that submission. Public notice shall include, but need not be limited to, publication in the county's or municipality's official newspaper once a week for at least four weeks and posting of the notice in five of the most public places in the county or municipality for at least four weeks before the election.
c. If the clerk refuses or neglects to comply with the provisions of sections 4 through 6 of P.L. , c. (C. )(pending before the Legislature as this bill), a registered voter of the county or municipality may apply to a judge of the Superior Court in the county in which the political subdivision is located for an order directing and compelling the submission of the question involved in the petition. The judge shall hear the matter summarily. If the judge finds and determines that the petition is in accordance with law, an appropriate order shall be issued. Any clerk failing to comply with the order of the court, or any public official, officer, agent or employee, interfering with, or preventing, a clerk from satisfying an order, shall be guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.
d. If the result of the election is favorable to rescinding the adoption of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes, the result shall be certified by the governing body of the county or municipality to the chairperson of the Civil Service Commission. The rescission shall take effect on a date established by the chairperson no less than six months and no greater than one year following the election at which the rescission was approved. If a majority of the votes cast at the election are against rescission, no new election may be held on the same question before the second general election or municipal election, as appropriate, following the election at which that rejection of rescission was voted.
5. (New section) a. A fire district or districts within a municipality that has rescinded Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes shall be deemed to have rescinded Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes with respect to its employees.
b. The Civil Service Commission shall promulgate regulations providing for the orderly transition, in any county, municipality, fire district, or school district which has adopted the rescission, in the personnel system of the county, municipality, fire district, or school district during the period prior to the effective date as set forth in section 4 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
c. A county, municipality, or school district which rescinds the adoption of the provisions of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes shall not be permitted to readopt the provisions of that title for a period of at least 10 years from the effective date of the rescission and shall be permitted to readopt the provisions of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes only once.
d. An employee with permanent status in a title on the date the rescission of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes takes effect shall retain only those rights to a Civil Service Commission hearing available to career service employees upon disciplinary removal from government services pursuant to N.J.S.11A:2-13 et seq., or to challenge the good faith of a layoff pursuant to N.J.S.11A:8-4.
e. Following the rescission of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes, the county, municipality, fire district, or school district may enter into a contract with the Civil Service Commission, in an amount which shall not exceed that permitted by law, for testing, classification, compensation, or other technical personnel services.
6. N.J.S.11A:9-6 is amended to read as follows:
11A:9-6. Adoption of title; elections. The [method of submitting the question of] procedure for the adoption, rejection or rescission of this title [to] by the voters of a county or municipality shall conform as nearly as possible to the provisions of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes, if appropriate, relating to the submission of public questions and [when submitted] at a school district election, shall conform as nearly as possible to the provisions of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, if appropriate, relating to the submission of public questions in school districts.
(cf: N.J.S.11A:9-6)
7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010, or if enacted after that date, this act shall take effect immediately upon enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill allows a civil service seasonal temporary appointment, currently limited to a maximum length of six months, to be nine months in length upon the application of the appointing authority and approval of the chairperson of the Civil Service Commission.
Also, this bill provides that an appointing authority in State or local service may institute a temporary layoff for economy, efficiency, or other related reasons. A temporary layoff is defined as the closure of an entire layoff unit for one or more work days over a defined period or a staggered layoff of each employee in a layoff unit for one or more work days over a defined period. A temporary layoff will be considered a single layoff action even though the layoff of individual employees takes place on different days during the defined period. The defined period will be set forth by the appointing authority in its temporary layoff plan. In a staggered layoff, however, the maximum period to stagger one day off is limited to 45 days.
The bill further provides that a temporary layoff may, with the approval of the chairperson, be subject to limited exceptions when necessary to ensure continued public health and safety, including but not limited to child welfare, law enforcement, and care for prisoners, patients, and other residents in the care or custody of the State or local government.
In a temporary layoff, no employee in the layoff unit, whether career, senior executive, or unclassified, will be paid for any work day that is designated as a temporary layoff day. Any employee who is designated as exempt from a temporary layoff day will be paid regular wages for working on that day. A temporary layoff plan must be submitted to the chairperson at least 15 days prior to the issuance of temporary layoff notices, or such other period as permitted by the chairperson. The temporary layoff plan must describe the implementation of the temporary layoff, including the specific days on which the layoff unit will be closed, any exceptions, and, if staggered, the reasons for not closing the entire layoff unit on a specific day, and the staffing plan for implementing a staggered temporary layoff. Part-time employees will be designated for a proportional amount of temporary layoff time. In a staggered temporary layoff, the appointing authority will be permitted, in its sole discretion, to designate as unpaid temporary layoff time any planned or unplanned leave time taken by an employee during the defined layoff period, up to the maximum temporary layoff time for that defined layoff period. Employees will not be permitted to substitute any paid leave for an unpaid temporary layoff day.
For purposes of accrual of leave time, anniversary dates, paid holidays, and seniority, temporary layoff time will be treated as if the employee is in pay status. An employee serving a working test period, however, will have the working test period extended for the time equal to the temporary layoff time. A leave for medical or family reasons will not be affected by a temporary layoff. An alternate work week program may be suspended for pay periods in which a temporary layoff is implemented.
Because a temporary layoff is intended to apply equally to all employees in the layoff unit, subject only to the exception and staggered schedules set forth in the bill, the following will not be applicable to a temporary layoff: seniority; job location; lateral and demotional title rights; application of lateral and demotional title rights within job locations; exercise of lateral and demotional title rights; and special reemployment rights.
Finally, this bill allows municipalities, counties, and school districts to withdraw from Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes, the civil service system, by referendum held after the submission of a petition signed by the required number of qualified voters or the adoption of an ordinance or resolution by the governing body. If a majority of the voters cast at the election are against rescission, no new election may be held on the same question before the second general election or municipal election, as appropriate, following the election at which that rejection of rescission was voted. A county, municipality, or school district which rescinds the adoption of the provisions of Title 11A will not be permitted to readopt the provisions for a period of at least 10 years from the effective date of the rescission and will be permitted to readopt the provisions of Title 11A only once. A fire district within a municipality that has rescinded Title 11A is deemed to have rescinded Title 11A.
The New Jersey Civil Service Commission will promulgate regulations providing for the orderly transition in the personnel system in any county, municipality, fire district, or school district in which the rescission has been adopted.
