Stand Up For Civil Service!

On April 10th, the Civil Service Commission will hold a public hearing on a rule proposal to eliminate civil service as we know it. The rule proposal bypasses the legislature and contract negotiations to "broad band" civil service titles, rewrite promotional rules, and eliminate or limit important protections like veteran preference, testing and ranking on lists, and layoff rights.

Take action to ensure this rule isn't rubber-stamped after a single hearing! Make sure thousands of public employees and hundreds of thousands of residents can weigh in to shape or stop this rule.

The “broad bands” of job titles would allow management at all levels of government (State, County, and Municipal) in the Civil Service System to group numerous job titles in large “bands.” Employers could hire, demote, or advance employees to jobs within the “band” based solely on management's assessment of your competency - without objective testing or lists.

Even worse is the manner in which the Commission is trying to do this. They are only allowing one hearing on these changes—at 3pm on a work day when most workers and residents can not attend the hearing. Despite the fact that thousands of public employees would be harmed by the rule, the hearing room only holds 20 people.

The Christie Administration wants to silence public input and push this change through with a rubber stamp after one meeting. We need to mobilize to stop it.

We will be organizing public comment opposing the rule but the first step is to get the Commission to hold a real public hearing process.

Subject: Request for additional public hearings on broad banding rule

Your Letter:

Director Maurer,

I hereby request additional public hearings on the proposed broad banding rule. One hearing on April 10th is insufficient for the proposed rule which would have major consequences for me, for thousands of public workers, and for millions of NJ residents who would be disserved by a system of appointment and promotion based on subjective management evaluations instead of the existing civil service process.

The proposed changes to Civil Service threaten the established system which evaluates performance, ensures fair and objective rights in a layoff, and bases promotions on rankings and lists.  The current system has protected women, people of color, and veterans from discrimination. In addition, Civil Service has ensured that public employees can excel in public service based on their talent and dedication rather than political connections. The proposed banding system would eviscerate these protections and open up greater patronage and favoritism at all levels of NJ government.

To make matters worse, the Commission has scheduled only one public hearing on these changes. A single hearing denies people who wish to offer comments or ask questions in person if they do not live near Trenton or don’t have the ability to take off work on April 10th. A rule change this serious and damaging shouldn’t be done with a rubber stamp after only one meeting.

Please follow previous precedent and schedule multiple hearings in different locations around the state. The CSC has held multiple public hearings on other rule proposals in the past and this banding proposal is complicated, requiring multiple hearings. I request that the Commission schedule additional public hearings after April 10 so that true public input is heard on this rule proposal.

cc: Chair Robert Czech

Henry Maurer

Civil Service Commission
Civil Service Commission
PO Box 312
Trenton, NJ 08625-0312
US

Robert Czech

Civil Service Commission
Civil Service Commission
PO Box 312
Trenton, NJ 08625-0312
US