Opinion: Civil service in New Jersey will come undone By Hetty Rosenstein Here’s something you never hear anyone from New Jersey say: “I think we need more patronage, nepotism and cronyism in government, and public workers should be promoted only if they contribute to the right political campaigns. Oh, and we’ve given way too much to those who defend America.” Unfortunately, that’s exactly what Gov. Chris Christie’s actions are saying when it comes to his latest proposal for “banding” jobs in the state’s civil service system, which would allow managers to move employees from one position to another without exams. Christie’s proposal guts a good system that’s been in existence for more than a century. Civil service ensures that appointments and promotions of people who serve the public are determined based upon a system of merit and fitness for the job. Christie’s new proposal undermines promotions for those who deserve it and hands power over to politicians and back-room players. It also destroys taxpayer protections so important they’re enshrined in our state constitution. Right now, workers are promoted from one title to another using an objective testing system with mandatory qualifications. Certain criteria must be met, such as experience, training or a degree in the relevant field. Those who meet minimum requirements are eligible to take a test, which provides a fair, objective and transparent measure of how one worker stacks up against the rest. Management then has what’s called the “Rule of Three”: They must pick one of the top three scorers (if workers tie on scores, this could mean they get to pick from more than three people) for the position. Christie’s proposal dismantles this system. Workers would now be “advanced” through a “broad band” of titles. This could happen without respect to qualifications or objective testing. Working hard and gaining expertise wouldn’t mean much anymore. Instead, promotions would be awarded at the sole determination of “competency” by a manager. While this could sound good in theory, there are big problems. Is there any doubt that once restraints are removed from local political machines, determination of “competency” will have a lot more to do with who contributed to the boss’ last political campaign or volunteered on Election Day than who actually does the best job? Does anyone think politicians in New Jersey need less oversight over who they put in charge of government, instead of a whole lot more? Let’s talk about veterans. Right now, managers can pick for promotion anyone who earns one of the top three scores — unless there’s a veteran in that group. If there is, managers can’t pick someone who scored lower than the veteran over the veteran. This preference is nowhere near strong enough, given the commitment these brave men and women have made. All it means is that managers can’t pass over a veteran for someone less qualified. Nonetheless, last month, Christie looked veterans in the eye and misled them about what his proposal would do. While his plan won’t change the definition of veterans’ preference, the fact is that if you get rid of 90 percent of promotions — and the proposal is written so broadly it could allow that to happen — you get rid of 90 percent of veterans’ preference. Perhaps most troubling is how Christie is trying to ram this through without the public knowing about it. That’s why his Civil Service Commission scheduled one hearing on the proposal — in the middle of a workday in Trenton in a room that fit no more than 30 people. Most people didn’t know about it, and many of those who did couldn’t attend. Even many legislators couldn’t attend at that difficult hour. Moreover, not one Civil Service commissioner attended, and they’ve rejected requests for more public hearings. No one from Civil Service came to either of the two legislative oversight hearings they were invited to, and not one word was uttered by a Republican during those hearings. Fortunately, Democrats employed a constitutional provision that allows the Legislature to strike down regulations like this. It’s a multistep process, and the first piece involves passing a resolution informing the governor it’s time to start over. In June, every Democrat in the Legislature was joined by one Republican state senator in doing just that. Now the ball is back in Christie’s court. He can continue to force his way through with his wrong-headed plan. Or he can scrap the proposal and work with stakeholders to strengthen the system that protects the public. Let’s hope the governor chooses the second option. Nothing less than the integrity of public employment in the state of New Jersey is at stake. Hetty Rosenstein is the New Jersey director for the Communications Workers of America.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Aug 2013 00:30:19 +0000
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