N.J. Admin. Code § 17:2-2.3

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 9, May 6, 2024

Section 17:2-2.3 - Ineligible persons

(a) The following classes of persons are ineligible for membership in the System:

1. Motor vehicle agents and their non-State employees;

2. Licensing agents of the Fish and Game Division and their non-State employees;

3. Any person paid from State, county, local public, or Federal funds who is a member of or required to join the Federal Civil Service Retirement System on total salary;

4. Any employee who is provisionally appointed to a Civil Service position is considered as an employee with temporary employment status and is ineligible to establish membership until the employee receives a regular Civil Service appointment, or has one year of continuous service. This does not apply to anyone who is already enrolled as a member or is a retiree from the System. Breaks in service of less than 30 days do not negate the continuity of service;

5. Any employee who is employed on a seasonal basis. Seasonal employment is a category of occasional employment in which the employer, consistent with past practices, does not expect the seasonal position to lead to permanent employment, and the position is not a temporary position as defined under N.J.A.C. 17:2-2.4(d). To qualify as seasonal employment, work periods shall not extend beyond six consecutive months for locations that report contributions on a 12-month basis, or five consecutive months for locations that report contributions on a 10-month basis, and severance of the employer/employee relationship shall occur during breaks in employment; and such breaks shall exceed 30 consecutive days;

6. Any person not in the career, senior executive, and unclassified service, or a regular budgeted position, who is employed on an on-call basis and works on average less than 10 days a month throughout the regular work year of the employer. This type of employment is temporary employment that is not continuous;

7. Any retired member who returns to a PERS covered position or positions for which the aggregate compensation is less than the aggregate calendar year compensation limit for exclusion from membership pursuant to N.J.S.A. 43:15A-57.2.b. Retired members shall notify their employer or employers when the aggregate calendar year compensation limit will be reached, so that the retired members may be reenrolled in the PERS. If the contractual or regularly budgeted compensation for the position or positions exceeds the calendar year compensation limit, the retired member shall be reenrolled in the PERS as of the beginning of their employment. A retired member who is employed on an hourly basis shall be reenrolled in the PERS as soon as the compensation received exceeds the calendar year compensation limit or the member's regular work hours per week require reenrollment, under N.J.S.A. 43:15A-7. For the purposes of this paragraph, a "retired member" is a former member who has terminated all employment covered by the PERS, who has not received compensation from employment covered by the PERS for at least 30 consecutive calendar days, who is not receiving a disability retirement benefit and whose retirement benefit has become due and payable as provided in N.J.A.C. 17:2-6.2;

8. Any person who is employed in an intermittent title. The designation "intermittent" shall be used for those titles in the career service in which work responsibilities are characterized by unpredictable work schedules and which do not meet the normal criteria for regular year-round, full-time or part-time assignments;

9. Any temporary employee hired under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. Temporary employees hired under the Workforce Investment Act shall be deemed to be Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) employees and, therefore, ineligible for PERS membership pursuant to N.J.S.A. 43:15A-7.h;

10. Any retired member, as defined in (a)7 above, who returns to employment with an institution of higher education in a teaching position covered by the PERS pursuant to 43:15A-57.2;

11. Any retired member, as defined in (a)7 above, who becomes employed by the State Department of Education in a position of critical need as determined by the State Commissioner of Education, or becomes employed by a board of education in a position of critical need as determined by the superintendent of the district on a contractual basis for a term of not more than one year pursuant to N.J.S.A. 43:15A-57.2. The retired member so reemployed may renew a contract for one additional year, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 43:15A-57.2, provided that the total period of employment with any individual board of education does not exceed a two-year period. The cancellation, reenrollment, and additional retirement allowance provisions and the compensation limitations shall apply if the retired member becomes employed within 120 days of retirement in a position with the employer from which the member retired;

12. Any official who commences service in a State or local elective public office on or after July 1, 2007, except for those who established membership in the PERS prior to July 1, 2007, based on service while continuously serving in the same elected office, as provided under N.J.A.C. 17:2-2.1(f);

i. Elected officials who are ineligible for PERS enrollment are eligible for enrollment in the DCRP, provided that all other eligibility requirements for DCRP membership are met; and

ii. Any non-veteran elected official whose election occurred prior to July 1, 2007, and who chose not to enroll in the PERS is eligible for membership in the DCRP, regardless of whether that official is elected to the same public office or a different public office.

13. Any official who is directly appointed by the Governor as of July 1, 2007, to serve at the Governor's pleasure during his or her term of office; also, an official whose gubernatorial appointment requires the advice and consent of the Senate, or who is appointed in a substantially similar fashion by a local entity (county, municipality, etc.).

i. In cases where an official's appointment occurred prior to July 1, 2007, PERS membership will continue as set forth in N.J.A.C. 17:2-2.1(f);

ii. Appointed officials who are ineligible for PERS enrollment may be eligible for enrollment in the DCRP, provided that all eligibility requirements for DCRP membership are met;

14. Any employee working under a Professional Services Contract as of January 1, 2008, as defined by N.J.S.A. 40A:11-5, 18A:18A-5, 18A:64A-25.5, and 43:15A-7.2;

15. Any independent contractor as set forth in regulation or policy of the Federal Internal Revenue Service; and

16. On-call substitute teachers who do not meet the eligibility requirements for PERS enrollment established at N.J.A.C. 17:2-2.1. Such on-call substitute teachers are enrolled in the DCRP, provided all DCRP eligibility requirements are met. Long-term substitute teachers and replacement teachers who meet the provisions of N.J.A.C. 17:2-2.1 and 2.10 shall be eligible to enroll in the PERS.

N.J. Admin. Code § 17:2-2.3

Amended by 50 N.J.R. 646(a), effective 1/16/2018