In re Hudson County Probation Department

429 A.2d 368, 178 N.J. Super. 362, 1981 N.J. Super. LEXIS 542
CourtNew Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division
DecidedMarch 20, 1981
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 429 A.2d 368 (In re Hudson County Probation Department) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Hudson County Probation Department, 429 A.2d 368, 178 N.J. Super. 362, 1981 N.J. Super. LEXIS 542 (N.J. Ct. App. 1981).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

MATTHEWS, P. J. A. D.

The Freeholders of Hudson County appeal from a final decision of the Civil Service Commission issued on March 18, 1980 which held that persons hired as investigators in the county’s Probation Department pursuant to Title IV, Part D of the 1975 amendments to the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C.A. § 651 et seq., are “permanent" Civil Service employees and accordingly are subject to the provisions of N.J.S.A., Title 11 (Civil Service).

Part D of the Social Security Act, entitled “Child Support and Establishment of Paternity” (42 U.S.C.A. § 651) states:

For the purpose of enforcing the support obligations owed by absent parents to their children, locating absent parents, establishing paternity and obtaining child support, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated for each fiscal year a sum sufficient to carry out the purposes of this part.

[365]*365Accordingly, 42 U.S.C.A. § 655 stipulates that states will be reimbursed for 75% of amounts expended for the operation of “plans” that are approved under 42 U.S.C.A. § 654.

In April 1978 it was determined that in accordance with the “Title IV-D” program it would be necessary for the Probation Department to hire an additional 20 investigators, clerk typists, and to assign three probation officers and one principal probation officer in order to meet the requirements of a federally-conducted audit scheduled for June 1978. On April 20, 1978 the Department of Civil Service certified a list of “eligibles” for the position of probation department investigator. Shortly thereafter, in June, 20 persons from this list were hired as investigators by the county. The newly hired investigators were classified as “temporary” employees by the county and notified of that fact. Thereafter, the county submitted the required personnel forms to the Department of Civil Service. The Department concluded that the newly hired investigators should be classified as permanent employees, and promptly amended the “temporary” classification given to them by the county.

On June 15, 1978 the county contested the Department’s decision to amend the county’s classification and requested that the Department review the matter and reverse its determination. The Department rejected the county’s request, maintaining that it was correct in classifying the investigators as permanent employees. In support of its position the Department relied heavily upon N.J.A.C. 4:1-14.5, which provides that with regard to local government services temporary appointments are limited to a maximum of four months.

The county submitted a letter, designated as a notice of appeal, to the Department on July 11, 1978 in which a hearing and a review of the matter in question were requested. On August 21, 1978 the Director of Hearings and Regulations for the Department notified the county that the matter would be treated as an administrative appeal subject to a review of the written record. In addition, the county was invited to inspect and supplement the record.

[366]*366The Civil Service Commission announced its final decision on March 18,1980, affirming the Department’s classification of the investigator positions as permanent. Thereafter, on April 22, 1980 the Department issued a payroll disapproval. Two days later, on April 24,1980, the county filed this appeal. On May 1, 1980 we entered an order staying the final decision entered by the Civil Service Commission on March 18, 1980 and the resulting payroll disapproval issued on April 22, 1980 pending our disposition of the appeal.

N.J.S.A. 11:22-3 provides:

The classified service shall include all persons in the paid service of a county, municipality or school district operating under this subtitle not included in the unclassified service as enumerated in section 11:22-2 of this title. [Emphasis supplied]

The county maintains that the investigators in question are outside the coverage of Civil Service, for they are not in the “paid service” of Hudson County since the county is reimbursed for 75% of their salaries through federal funding. The Commission, on the other hand, disputes the contention that the investigators should have been classified as temporary. At the base of their argument is N.J.A.C. 4:1-14.5, which states in pertinent part:

No temporary appointment shall extend beyond six months in State service nor four months in local services. Should a temporary position not be terminated at the expiration of such respective periods, the position shall be considered a permanent position .... [Emphasis supplied]

It should be noted that only four of the investigators originally hired remain with the Probation Department. However, it is undisputed that the employment of these investigators has exceeded four months.

The core of the county’s appeal lies in its argument that the investigators were improperly classified as permanent Civil Service employees since the “IV-D” program is funded primarily by the Federal Government and has been “mandatorily imposed upon the County.” In support of its argument the county relies heavily upon our decision in White v. Paterson, 137 N.J.Super. 220 (App.Div.1975). Plaintiffs in White challenged the right of [367]*367the City of Paterson to hire as firemen persons who had not qualified under the Civil Service Act but who were hired pursuant to Title II of the federal Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1973 (CETA). We determined that Paterson was empowered to hire firemen under the CETA program without having to take into account Civil Service requirements. 137 N.J.Saper. at 226. In reaching our decision we noted that in determining whether employees are in the “paid service” of a governmental entity (N.J.S.A. 11:22-3, above) it has generally been held that “the significant factor” is whether the employees are paid by the entity. We stated that “since the CETA employees are paid from federal funds rather than from Paterson’s funds, they are not in the ‘paid service’ of the city and therefore are not subject to the Civil Service Act.” 137 N.J.Super. at 224.

Although at first blush White appears to be persuasive authority, we find that it can be distinguished from the situation at hand in several ways. First, it is clear that CETA and the Title IV-D program were enacted for different purposes. As we noted in White, the object of CETA is to “aid the chronically unemployed during the current economic crisis by supplying them with jobs, and at the same time training them in useful skills which can lead to permanent employment in the public or private sectors.” 137 N.J.Super. at 223. It is readily apparent from a reading of 42 U.S.C.A. § 651, however, that the Title IV-D program was not implemented for the purposes of providing job training and employment opportunities for the economically disadvantaged.

Second, a distinction exists with regard to the duration of employment under the respective acts. 29 U.S.C.A. § 824(hX2) provides that “No [CETA] participant may be paid wages from funds under this Act for public service employment for more than 78 weeks in a 5-year period.” (Emphasis supplied).

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429 A.2d 368, 178 N.J. Super. 362, 1981 N.J. Super. LEXIS 542, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-hudson-county-probation-department-njsuperctappdiv-1981.