Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman AURA K. DUNN
District 25 (Morris and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes the New Jersey State Government and Civil Service Student Internship Program; appropriates $750,000.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act establishing the New Jersey State Government and Civil Service Student Internship Program, supplementing Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes and making an appropriation.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. There is established in the Department of Labor and Workforce Development the New Jersey State Government and Civil Service Student Internship Program. The program shall aim to attract to State government service outstanding students from a variety of academic disciplines from institutions of higher education who have an interest in, and commitment to, public service.
2. a. The New Jersey State Government and Civil Service Student Internship Program shall be open to any full-time or part-time student currently attending any accredited institution of higher education.
b. The program shall be open to students in undergraduate level and graduate level programs, with the exception of juris doctorate and PhD programs.
c. Students who are residents of New Jersey, or who are attending institutions of higher education located within New Jersey, shall be granted priority over other applicants to the program.
d. Participants shall be required to complete two work periods of 240 hours each with a State government department or agency.
e. Participants shall be required to work no more than 20 hours per week, but may voluntarily work no more than 30 hours per week, during periods when semester classes are in session.
Participants shall be required to work no more than 40 hours per week during periods when semester classes are not in session.
f. A participant who successfully completes 480 hours of an internship with the program in the same State department, or agency shall be granted preference to the extent allowable by law when applying for an entry-level civil service position within two years of their graduation date with the degree which they were pursuing during the course of their internship, if the position encompasses the same or substantially similar work completed during their internship. Disabled veterans and veterans who participate in the program shall be given the highest priority for preference to the extent allowable by law; otherwise, preference for disabled veterans and veterans, pursuant to N.J.S.11A:5-5 and N.J.S.11A:5-6, shall be maintained.
Preference for a participant who successfully completes the program shall expire upon acceptance of a suitable position and shall not apply for consideration for promotions. Employers may consider a participants successful completion of the program when considering a potential candidate for promotion.
g. There shall be no penalty if a participant leaves the program before completion. If a participant leaves the program before completing the 480-hour requirement, the participant shall not receive the post-graduation preference for an entry-level civil service position.
h. At no time shall any portion of the hours worked during an internship with the program qualify for preference in hiring for any position in State government which requires a juris doctorate or PhD.
i. When a participant completes the 480-hour program requirement the State government department or agency may elect to retain the participant for an additional 240 hours if the participant agrees to continue their internship.
3. There is established a New Jersey State Government and Civil Service Student Internship Program Advisory Committee. The committee shall consist of the commissioners of each Executive Branch department, or their designees.
The advisory committee shall appoint a director of the New Jersey State Government and Civil Service Student Internship Program, established pursuant to section 1 of this act, P.L. , c.
(C. )(pending before the Legislature as this bill), who shall administer the program and, in cooperation with the advisory committee, develop eligibility criteria, the application process, recruit, and select the program participants. The director need not be a commissioner, or a designee, of an Executive Branch department.
The director of the program, shall identify and help create internship opportunities across all, or as many Executive Branch departments and agencies, as possible.
The director of the program shall assist program participants in receiving credit from the higher education institution for the internship, when such credits are available to the participant.
In the event that a program
participant who successfully completes the 480-hours program requirement is
denied an entry level civil service position and that position was filled by a
disabled veteran or veteran, the director shall attempt to identify a suitable qualifying
open position for the participant. In the event that no such position is
available, the two-year post-graduation period of subsection f. of section 2 of
this act, P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this
bill), shall be extended until such time as a suitable qualifying position
becomes available and the participant is offered employment.
4. a. Students selected to participate in the New Jersey State Government and Civil Service Student Internship Program established pursuant to section 1 of this act, P.L. , c.
(C. )(pending before the Legislature as this bill), shall receive a stipend of $2,500 for every 240 hours of participation in the program. The stipend shall be prorated and paid bi-weekly.
b. There shall be appropriated in each State fiscal year for the stipends provided to program participants pursuant to section 3 of this act, P.L. , c. (C. )(pending before the Legislature as this bill), such sums as may be necessary, but not to exceed an amount as shall be determined by the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting in the Department of the Treasury, to effectuate the purposes of the program established in accordance with section 1 of this act, P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
5. There is hereby appropriated $750,000 from the State General Fund to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development for the purposes of the New Jersey State Government and Civil Service Student Internship Program established pursuant to section 1 of this act, P.L. , c. (C. )(pending before the Legislature as this bill).
6. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes the New Jersey State Government and Civil Service Student Internship Program within the Department of Labor and Workforce Development which will aim to attract to State governme