North Carolina Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in North Carolina, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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Was it legal for NC legislative leaders to direct how millions of dollars in 'Reserve Fund' grants got distributed by executive branch agencies, after the regular appropriations process was over?
The NC AG concluded that the Reserve Fund process described by the State Auditor did not clearly violate the state Constitution or N.C.G.S. § 143-16.3, but flagged that the practice contravened legisl…
Can North Carolina pay its current state employees a 'Referral Incentive Award' for identifying and recommending people for hard-to-fill state positions, or does the state employment-agency statute prohibit that kind of payment?
Yes, the state can pay the referral incentive. The 2000 NC AG opinion concluded that N.C. Gen. Stat. § 126-18 does not bar an Office of State Personnel-administered Referral Incentive Award program th…
When the NC State Auditor audits a state agency, can he look at the confidential personnel files of state employees without their permission, their department head's permission, or a court order, or does the State Personnel Act's confidentiality rule (G.S. § 126-24) block him?
Yes, he can. AG Mike Easley's office concluded that G.S. § 147-64.13 declares the State Auditor's Article 5A powers take precedence over any conflicting provision of law. The Auditor's authority under…
Can a North Carolina state agency limit job-posting applicants to people already inside the agency, and can the agency limit the number of internal positions any one employee may apply for?
Yes on internal-only postings, with conditions. Under N.C.G.S. § 126-7.1, a state agency may limit applicants to current employees of the agency, as long as the agency does not receive or consider app…
After North Carolina's 1997 reform of the State Personnel Act, what happened to RIF priorities, where did personnel directors fit in the exempt-position scheme, and could job applicants sue over political-affiliation discrimination?
The AG advised that the new 'most qualified person' definition incorporated existing priority rules (so a minimally qualified reduction-in-force candidate still beat a stronger outside applicant), tha…
When the 1991 NC legislature rewrote the state personnel statutes to make career-employee status depend on job level rather than pay grade, and said the new rules applied to employees hired on or after July 1, 1993, did that leave employees hired before July 1, 1993 stuck under the old (slower) tenure rules?
No. Reading the act to create a dual personnel system (where current employees achieve career status more slowly than new hires) would raise serious equal-protection and class-legislation problems. Th…
Can a North Carolina state agency deny a performance-pay raise to an employee who has already hit the top of the salary range for the job?
Yes. A state senator asked whether N.C.G.S. § 126-7(c)(4)'s mandatory-sounding language ('shall receive a performance increase unless the employee's supervisor justifies in writing the decision not to…
Can a North Carolina state agency hire a private executive search firm to find candidates for hard-to-fill positions, and pay the firm a fee?
Yes for a true executive search firm, with one big limit. N.C.G.S. § 126-18 is aimed at firms that charge jobseekers (or take payment for placing someone in state employment); it does not prohibit a s…
When a North Carolina county board of health wants to fire its County Health Director, can it discharge the director at will, or does the State Personnel Act (Chapter 126) protect the director?
Chapter 126 protects the director. § 126-5(a) covers all employees of local health departments unless specifically exempted, and no statute exempts the health director. The 1983 rewrite of Chapter 130…
After the 1975 reorganization of North Carolina state government, who actually runs the Office of State Personnel, the Secretary of Administration or the State Personnel Director?
The State Personnel Director. The 1979 AG concluded that the Office of State Personnel was a largely independent agency placed under the Department of Administration only for organizational purposes. …
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Attorney general opinions in North Carolina are written by the North Carolina Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.