Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill’s transition team has asked for letters of resignation from appointed state government employees — including thousands of workers with union protections, according to union officials, prompting anger and worry from affected workers as Sherrill prepares to take office next week.
Sean Higgins, spokesman for Sherrill’s transition team, told NJ Advance Media on Wednesday the incoming Democratic governor “does not intend to ask for mass resignations and would clarify the requests only apply to political appointees.”
The state Civil Service Commission, which is part of outgoing Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy‘s administration, inadvertently provided Sherrill’s transition team with some inaccurate information about the state’s work force.
“This is a standard process during a transition and these requests were based on information we received, which contained inconsistencies that we are working on with departments to clear,” Higgins said in a statement.
“Gov.-elect Sherrill values the hard work of state employees and public servants and looks forward to working together to implement her agenda to make New Jersey more affordable,” he added.
It’s common for incoming governors to request letters of resignation from political appointees prior to taking office, officials in past administrations told NJ Advance Media.
But leaders of the state’s top public employee union said Sherrill’s requests went much deeper and included thousands of career workers who have union protections.
The Communications Workers of America told affected employees on Tuesday they should not send a resignation letter to the state, even though department heads had told them the letters were due Jan. 14.
A union representative said the CWA and Sherrill’s transition team were working through a solution Wednesday for what may be a “clerical” error.
“While this has been a confusing and alarming process for many of our members, we greatly appreciate the Transition Team assuring us that it is not their intention to compel mass resignation offers and that they fully respect our members contractual and civil service protections,” Tonya Hodges, the New Jersey area director for CWA District 1, said in a statement.
Sherrill transition team leader Kellie Doucette requested in a letter to the Murphy administration that department heads inform affected employees, including those in unclassified titles, that they should submit letters of resignation.
“Please be assured that this is in no way a reflection on the administration’s work for and the dedication to our state, but rather a normal and customary part of the transition process that allows for the development of the new Administration,” Doucette wrote in the letter, obtained by NJ Advance Media.
But union leaders said unclassified workers who remain on the job for three or more years are entitled to job security and cannot be terminated without cause. Even unclassified workers with less than three years have some job protections “that provide them with due process regarding discipline or resignation,” the CWA said in a separate statement.
“While it is standard practice for every new incoming administration to ask for letters of resignation from certain unclassified employees and appointees, CWA maintains that it was not appropriate to send such notices to employees covered by our collective bargaining agreement,” the union said in an email to its members Tuesday.
It is unclear how many employees were targeted in error.
Murphy’s office declined to comment.
There are approximately 64,000 state employees in New Jersey, including 13,700 unclassified workers who predominately work for the state departments of Law and Public Safety and Treasury, according to a 2024 report by the Civil Service Commission.
The requests for resignations saw some workers taking aim at Sherrill, with some angered many were were asked to submit resignations “against their will.”
A longtime unclassified worker who requested anonymity out of fear of getting fired said the misstep is disappointing and not what they expected from Sherrill.
“Many state workers were concerned that (Sherrill’s Republican challenger Jack) Ciatterelli would come in and implement DOGE-like cuts,“ a reference to Elon Musk’s temporary job cutting thousands of jobs.
Sherrill herself warned on the campaign trail that Ciattarelli, a former state lawmaker, wanted a “New Jersey DOGE.”
A former congresswoman, Sherrill defeated Ciattarelli by 14 points in November’s election to succeed Murphy. She will take office next Tuesday, Jan. 20.
Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill’s transition team has asked for undated letters of resignation from all “unclassified” employees — workers who do not have job protections through the state Civil Service Commission.Susan K. Livio
