EXHIBIT “A”
CITY OF RIVERSIDE
HIRING INCENTIVE PROGRAM
FOR POLICE OFFICER LATERAL AND PUBLIC SAFETY DISPATCHER II LATERAL CLASSICIATIONS February 2023
Purpose
The purpose of the Hiring Incentive Program is to provide the City Manager or designee with additional recruitment tools to attract highly qualified, performance-oriented lateral candidates for the specific classifications of Police Officer (job code 2240) and Public Safety Dispatcher II classifications (Job codes 2493 and 2496) that are deemed “Difficult to Recruit” within the Riverside Police Department.
Administrative Authority
The City Manager or designee is authorized to approve recruitment incentives during active recruitments, and to approve the classifications eligible to receive such incentives for the duration of the program.
Recruitment incentives defined in this policy are provided by the City of Riverside outside the negotiation process and may be discontinued at any time at the City’s discretion.
The City Manager or designee shall exercise final authority regarding interpretation of program policies and eligibility for incentive or bonus payments consistent with the intent of this program. The City Manager or designee is authorized to refine implementation procedures of this program as deemed appropriate. The City Manager or designee may modify, suspend, or terminate this program partially or in its entirety at any time should such incentives no longer be required, appropriate or funding is not available. The termination or modification of this program shall not affect the rights of employees who qualified for a lateral hiring incentive or finders fee during its effective period. Termination or modification of the retention bonus shall not affect the rights of an eligible employee until they have earned their next bonus under the program.
Hiring Incentives
The following incentive payments will be provided specifically to newly-hired lateral employees, hired in the Police Officer (job code 2240) and Public Safety Dispatcher II (job codes 2493 and 2496) positions designated as “Difficult to Recruit,” consistent with the program objectives and eligibility criteria outlined in this document. $5,000 upon completion of the Training Program; and an additional $5,000 upon successful completion of the probationary period with a minimum “meets standards” rating; and Newly hired Lateral Police Officers and Lateral Public Safety Dispatchers shall receive an initial frontload of Forty (40) vacation hours added to their vacation leave bank upon hire. The vacation hours may be utilized at any time provided it is approved by the department; hours have no expiration date.
Definitions
The term “newly-hired” refers to an employee who is hired by the City of Riverside in the classification of Police Officer (Officer) or Public Safety Dispatcher II (Dispatcher), on or after the effective date this proposal is approved and implemented by the City of Riverside.
The term “hired” refers to an employee who accepts an offer of full-time employment from the City of Riverside in the classification of Police Officer (Officer) or Public Safety Dispatcher II (Dispatcher) and begins work for the City.
The term “lateral” refers to an employee who possesses a basic certificate from the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training applicable to their job classification, AND who has successfully completed a probationary period as a sworn Peace Officer or Dispatcher, respectively, for another California law enforcement agency.
This program shall not be available to Officer Trainee or Dispatcher Trainee classifications, nor to any other employment classification within the City of Riverside except Police Officer (Job Code 2240) and Public Safety Dispatcher II (Job Codes 2493 and 2496).
Finder’s Fee
$1,000 will be paid to a City of Riverside employee who has referred a candidate not currently employed by the City of Riverside for employment into an eligible classification as outlined in this document. Incentive payments for such referrals will be made only after the referred candidate is hired and successfully completes the probationary period with a minimum of a “meets standards” evaluation.
A current City of Riverside employee will be deemed to have referred a candidate for employment where that candidate lists the current employee as a reference during the initial application stage. Not more than one current employee may receive a Finder’s Fee for the same candidate.
Should any dispute arise over the source of a hiring referral, the City Manager or designee shall make a final determination as to the appropriateness of a referral incentive payment, and to whom such a payment (if any) shall be made.
Retention Bonus Payments for Public Safety Dispatcher II Classification To assist in retaining employees in the Public Safety Communications Center, the following classification will be eligible for a retention bonus.
Public Safety Dispatcher II, the City shall offer a retention bonus for this unique classification series.
An employee in the Public Safety Dispatcher II position (job code 2493 and 2496) who completes two years of consecutive employment with the City of Riverside will receive $2,500. The two-year period will commence upon completion of probation by newly-hired dispatchers. The two-year period for existing dispatchers, currently eligible for the retention bonus, will continue based upon their existing eligibility date. Bonus payments will continue thereafter for all dispatchers based upon continuous uninterrupted employment. Retention Bonus pay will be tied to the employee’s annual evaluation with a minimum of a “meets standards” performance rating.
The City Manager or designee is authorized to continue, modify, suspend or terminate the retention bonus program separately and apart from the hiring incentive bonus partially or in its entirety at any time should such incentives no longer be required, appropriate or funding is not available.
Loss of Eligibility for Incentives
Eligibility for participation in this program is forfeited if the employee voluntarily separates or is involuntarily separated prior to any payment date. No additional payment will be granted after a separation date.
If the Hiring Incentive Program is cancelled or suspended by the City, the current participants in the program will receive all scheduled payments (e.g. upon completion of a probationary period) at the appropriate rate for the current period (or current review cycle for those employees receiving longevity incentive payments), so long as the employee continues to meet minimum requirements and continues uninterrupted employment with the City in the eligible job classification.
Any employee on any type of leave of absence away from work for a period exceeding 20 working days or more will have that time added to the period between payment dates.
If an employee changes work assignments into a position that is not eligible for the program, the employee will no longer be eligible to receive any further scheduled payments after the date of transfer to another job classification.
For more information concerning this Hiring Incentive Program, please contact the Human Resources Department at (951) 826-5808.