40A:14-180 Appointment of certain county, municipal, sheriff's law enforcement officers.

1. a. The provisions of any other law to the contrary notwithstanding, the appointing authority of a county or municipality which, pursuant to N.J.S.40A:14-106, in the case of a county, or N.J.S.40A:14-118, in the case of a municipality, has established and maintains a police force or the sheriff of any county may appoint as a member or officer of the county or municipal police department or as a member or officer of the county sheriff's office any person who:

(1) was serving as a law enforcement officer in good standing in any State, county or municipal law enforcement department or agency, or county sheriff's office; and

(2) satisfactorily completed a working test period in a State law enforcement title or in a law enforcement title in a county or municipality which has adopted Title 11A, Civil Service, of the New Jersey Statutes or satisfactorily completed a comparable, documented probationary period in a law enforcement title in a county or municipality which has not adopted Title 11A, Civil Service; and

(3) was, for reasons of economy, terminated as a law enforcement officer within 60 months prior to the appointment.

b. A county, municipality, or sheriff may employ such a person notwithstanding that:

(1) Title 11A, Civil Service, of the New Jersey Statutes is operative in that county or municipality;

(2) the county, municipality, or sheriff's office has available to it an eligible or regular reemployment list of law enforcement officers eligible for such appointments; and

(3) the appointed person is not on any eligible list. A county or municipality which has adopted Title 11A, Civil Service, may not employ such a person if a special reemployment list is in existence for the law enforcement title to be filled.

c. If a county or a sheriff determines to appoint a person pursuant to the provisions of this act, first priority in making such appointments shall be given to residents of the county. A municipality making such an appointment shall give first priority to residents of the municipality and second priority to residents of the county not residing in the municipality.

d. The seniority, seniority-related privileges and rank a law enforcement officer possessed with the employer who terminated the officer's employment for reasons of economy shall not be transferable to a new position when the officer is appointed to a law enforcement position pursuant to the provisions of this section.

The provisions of this section shall not apply to a sheriff's investigator appointed pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1987, c.113 (C.40A:9-117a).

L.1991, c.299, s.1; amended 1993, c.187, s.1; 1996, c.13; 2010, c.103, s.1.