The administration of Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie asked the state Supreme Court to reinstate civil service rules, aimed at eliminating competitive testing for some state government jobs, that were rejected by the Democrat-controlled Legislature.

A top lawyer from the Attorney General's Office on Tuesday urged the court to overturn an Appellate Division ruling that upheld a legislative veto of the 2013 rule changes issued by the state Civil Service Commission.

The CSC rule changes—commonly known as “job-banding”—defined certain job titles as “bands,” and allowed workers within a band to advance from one pay grade to another without having to take a competitive exam. The CSC said the advancements were not promotions, which still require a competitive exam.