| Date: | 04/02/2026 |
|---|---|
| Organization: | Civil Service Commission |
| Docket Number: | G1-26-053 |
The Commission dismissed the Appellant’s appeal as the Commission lacks jurisdiction regarding the appointment of Correction Officers at the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office.
On February 14, 2026, the Appellant, Gabrielle A. Rounds (Appellant), filed an appeal with the Massachusetts Civil Service Commission (Commission) after being notified by the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office (Sheriff’s Office) that she had been non-selected for the position of Correction Officer. On March 5, 2026, the Sheriff’s Office filed a motion to dismiss the Appellant’s appeal based on a lack of jurisdiction. After being given until March 24, 2026, to do so, the Appellant did not file a reply.
The Presiding Officer may at any time, on his or her own motion or that of a Party, dismiss a case for lack of jurisdiction to decide the matter, for failure of the Petitioner to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, or because of the pendency of a prior, related action in any tribunal that should first be decided. 801 CMR 1.01 (7)(g)(3).
The Middlesex Sheriff’s Office is not a civil service appointing authority as defined in Section 1 of Chapter 31 and appointments and promotions in the Sheriff’s Office are not subject to the civil service law and rules in Massachusetts, in contrast to Correction Officer appointments at the Massachusetts Department of Correction (DOC), which is a civil service appointing authority. Nor am I aware of any Special Act or other law that provides any civil service protection to candidates or employees of the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office.
The Appellant’s appeal under Docket No. G1-26-053 is dismissed back on a lack of jurisdiction.
Civil Service Commission
/s/ Christopher Bowman
Christopher C. Bowman
Chair
By a vote of the Civil Service Commission (Bowman, Chair; Dooley, Markey, McConney and Stein) on April 2, 2026.
Either party may file a motion for reconsideration within ten days of the receipt of this Commission order or decision. Under the pertinent provisions of the Code of Mass. Regulations, 801 CMR 1.01(7)(l), the motion must identify a clerical or mechanical error in this order or decision or a significant factor the Agency or the Presiding Officer may have overlooked in deciding the case. A motion for reconsideration does not toll the statutorily prescribed thirty-day time limit for seeking judicial review of this Commission order or decision.
Under the provisions of G.L c. 31, § 44, any party aggrieved by this Commission order or decision may initiate proceedings for judicial review under G.L. c. 30A, § 14 in the superior court within thirty (30) days after receipt of this order or decision. Commencement of such proceeding shall not, unless specifically ordered by the court, operate as a stay of this Commission order or decision. After initiating proceedings for judicial review in Superior Court, the plaintiff, or his / her attorney, is required to serve a copy of the summons and complaint upon the Boston office of the Attorney General of the Commonwealth, with a copy to the Civil Service Commission, in the time and in the manner prescribed by Mass. R. Civ. P. 4(d).
Notice to:
Gabrielle Rounds (Appellant)
James Donovan, Esq. (for Respondent)
