40A:14-9 General qualifications of members; temporary appointments; absences from duty.

40A:14-9. Except as otherwise provided by law, no person shall be appointed as a member of the paid or as a paid member of a part-paid fire department and force, unless he:

(1) is a citizen of the United States;

(2) is sound in body and of good health sufficient to satisfy the board of trustees of the police and firemen's retirement system of New Jersey as to his eligibility for membership in the retirement system;

(3) has a high school diploma or an equivalency certificate and is able to read, write and speak the English language well and intelligently;

(4) is of good moral character; and

(5) has not been convicted of any criminal offense involving moral turpitude.

For the purposes of this section, each applicant shall submit to the appointing body of the municipality, the applicant's name, address, fingerprints and written consent for a criminal history record background check to be performed. The appointing body of the municipality is authorized to exchange fingerprint data with and receive criminal history record information from the State Bureau of Identification in the Division of State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation consistent with applicable State and federal laws, rules and regulations. The applicant shall bear the cost for the criminal history record background check, including all costs of administering and processing the check. The Division of State Police shall promptly notify the appointing body of the municipality in the event a current employee or prospective applicant, who was the subject of a criminal history record background check pursuant to this section, is arrested for a crime or offense in this State after the date the background check was performed. The appointing body, officer or officers of the municipality when authorized so to do, may employ such officers and other personnel for said paid or part-paid fire department and force as temporary employees in emergencies, or for certain specified parts of the year, as needed.

Except as otherwise provided by law, any permanent paid member or officer of such paid or part-paid fire department and force, who is absent from duty without just cause or leave of absence, for a continuous period of 5 days, shall cease to be a member of such paid or part-paid fire department.

L.1971, c.197, s.1; amended 1971, c.443, s.1; 1981, c.19, s.1; 2003, c.199, s.25.