STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ANTHONY S. VERRELLI
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblyman ROBERT J. KARABINCHAK
District 18 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Permits Department of Human Services to appoint persons separate from civil service eligible list under certain circumstances.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning the Department of Human Services and civil service eligible lists, and supplementing chapter 4 of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Notwithstanding any other law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, when the Department of Human Services requests a certified eligible list from the Civil Service Commission for the purpose of hiring an American Sign Language interpreter to provide interpretation services, and a list is not provided within 60 days or an appointment does not result from the list, the department may appoint an otherwise qualified candidate for the position. The department, with the written authorization of the Commissioner, or a designee, shall sign a waiver designed and authorized by the Civil Service Commission exempting the candidate from the civil service hiring process.
Upon accepting appointment, the candidate shall satisfactorily complete the working test period to be considered by the commission as qualified for the position and to have civil service status.
The Civil Service Commission shall not require the department to replace the candidate upon issuance of a subsequent certified eligible list. This provision shall apply regardless of whether or not the candidate is listed on the certified eligible list.
2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the second month next following enactment, except the Civil Service Commission may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
Under current law, when the Department of Human Services requests an eligible list of hires from the Civil Service Commission for the purpose of hiring an American Sign Language interpreter to provide interpretation services, it may take several months to receive the eligible list, and in the meantime, positions go unfilled. In addition, there are times when the list is received and either there are no suitable persons, or the persons on the list do not accept the position. This bill will permit the waiving of the commission hiring requirements, enabling the department to fill vacancies.
Under the bill, when the department requests a certified eligible list from the commission for the purpose of hiring an American Sign Language interpreter to provide interpretation services, and a list is not provided within 60 days, or an appointment does not result from the list, the department may hire an otherwise qualified candidate for the position. The department, with the written authorization of the Commissioner of the Department of Human Services, must sign a waiver designed and authorized by the Civil Service Commission exempting the candidate from the civil service hiring process.
Upon accepting appointment, the candidate must satisfactorily complete the working test period to be considered by the commission as qualified for the position and to have civil service status.
The commission will not require the department to replace the candidate upon issuance of a subsequent certified eligible list.
This bill will help reduce the number of vacancies within the Department of Human Services.