HR Governance

N.C. General Statutes Chapter 126, the North Carolina Human Resources Act, established a statewide system of personnel administration under the governor. The Act provides a framework for the fair management of and protections entitled to state employees. The North Carolina Office of State Human Resources works to modernize the North Carolina Human Resources Act, making the State's HR system easier, faster, and better.

The laws, rules, and policies governing employment in State of North Carolina government agencies generally apply to all positions and employees that are subject to the North Carolina Human Resources Act. Some employees are exempt from all or part of the Human Resources Act; see section 126-5 of the General Statutes for more details.

Laws supersede rules, and rules supersede policies.

State Human Resources Act    All Rules    All Policies

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A pyramid piece graphic depicting laws.
A pyramid piece graphic depicting rules.
A pyramid piece graphic depicting policies.
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The North Carolina Human Resources Act is Chapter 126 of the North Carolina General Statutes. Recently, many changes were made to the Human Resources Act by Session Law 2025-34 (Senate Bill 124), which became law on July 1, 2025. Laws take priority over the text of rules or policies.

During the 2025 legislative session, the following bills have also modified Chapter 126 or other state HR statutes: 

The State Human Resources Commission establishes Human Resources rules, subject to the approval of the governor. Rules adopted by the Human Resources Commission are published in Title 25 of the North Carolina Administrative Code. Laws take priority over rules, but rules take priority over the text of policies.

Read the HRC rules organized in one long document.

You can also click on the following links to read particular subchapters of the State Human Resources Commission rules.

The State Human Resources Commission establishes Human Resources policies, subject to the approval of the governor. Policies adopted by the Commission are collected here on the Office of State Human Resources website. Laws and rules take priority over the text of policies.

View and search policies, listed alphabetically.

Additional Resources