City Council Agenda Report
Meeting Date: May 20, 2025
From: Lisette Grizzelle, Interim Director of Human Resources Department: Human Resources
Submitted by: Lisette Grizzelle, Interim Director of Human Resources Subject
Report on the Status of City of Vernon Vacancies and Recruitment and Retention Efforts Recommendation
A. Conduct a Public Hearing; and
B. Receive and file informational report and presentation on the City of Vernon vacancies, and recruitment and retention efforts pursuant to Assembly Bill 2561/Government Code Section 3502.3.
Background
Assembly Bill (“AB”) 2561, codified in Government Code section 3502.3, passed on September 22, 2024, to amend the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA), and requires public agencies to hold a public hearing to address the status of job vacancies prior to the adoption of the upcoming fiscal year budget. During this public hearing, the City must present information on the status of vacancies and the City’s recruitment and retention efforts. If necessary, the City will identify necessary changes to policies, procedures, and/or recruitment activities that may lead to obstacles in the hiring process to help mitigate the challenges. The public hearing will ensure compliance with the new law. On May 5th, 2025, Human Resources staff shared the Notice of Public Hearing with Bargaining Unions and Associations, and extended an invitation to participate in the public hearing via email pursuant to AB2561 statutory requirements.
Required Information
Staff will present the following required information at the public hearing:
1. The status of position vacancies at the City of Vernon
2. Information on the City of Vernon’s recruitment and retention efforts
3. Obstacles in the City’s policies, procedures, and recruitment activities that may create challenges in the hiring process
4. Recommended policy and procedure revisions
If the number of position vacancies within a single bargaining unit meets or exceeds 20% of the total number of authorized full-time positions, the staff presentation will also include the following information:
1. The total number of job vacancies within the bargaining unit
2. The total number of applicants for vacant positions within the bargaining unit
3. The average number of days to complete the hiring process from when a position is posted
4. Opportunities to improve compensation and other working conditions As of May 1, 2025, there are no bargaining units with a full-time vacancy rate exceeding 20%.
Bargaining Unit Vacancy Rate Number of Vacancies
Internation Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) 8.69% 4 Teamsters Local 911 6.17% 5
Vernon Police Management Association (VPMA) 0% 0
Vernon Police Officer’s Benefit Association (VPOBA) 0% 0 Non-Represented Full – Time Positions 9.68% 6
233 Total Full-Time Positions 6.44% 15
Existing Policy and Recommendations
The Human Resources Department recruitment and retention efforts are guided by the City’s Personnel Policies & Procedures Manual related to the policies listed below:
• I-1 Terms of Employment
• I-2 Requesting & Recruiting Personnel
• I-3 Testing Certification and Eligibility List
• I-9 Pre-Employment Medical and Drug Screen Examinations • I-12 Reference-Background Checks
• I-13 Criminal Background Check and Live Scan
• Driver’s License Requirements (revisions)
In an effort to improve and help expedite the hiring process Human Resources staff is recommending various revisions and updates to three of the policies listed above. The revised policies are: I-1 Terms of Employment recommended revisions to reflect current classification titles. I-2 Requesting & Recruiting Personnel recommended revisions will assist in providing more flexibility when needed to help attract a higher qualified candidate pool and assist in shortening the recruitment timeframe. I-3 Testing Certification and Eligibility List recommended updates will implement common market trends and practices to enhance competitiveness. Human Resources staff has collaborated with Department Heads and Bargaining Unit representatives and is presenting red-line language changes to maintain competitiveness, reduce the number of days from recruitment start date to hire date, and to increase qualified candidate pools and retention rates.
Senate Bill 1100 passed in 2024 with implementation starting in 2025. The new law modifies existing law under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) to promote more inclusive hiring practices and help reduce barriers to employment. The new law states that California employers cannot require a driver’s license in job postings unless driving is a necessary job function and alternative transportation methods are not feasible. As a result, the Human Resources staff is working on reviewing job descriptions to make the necessary revisions to comply with this new mandated legal requirement.
Existing Recruitment Procedures, Improvements, and Recommendations The Human Resource Department has been proactively reviewing, assessing and implementing strategies to improve recruitment and selection processes such as:
• Collaboration between Human Resources and Hiring Departments to set departmental selection interview dates prior to establishing an eligibility list so that Human Resources staff may notify successful candidates they have been placed on an eligibility list and will be invited by the hiring department to a selection panel interview on a specific set date. This advanced planning has had a positive effect on shortening the time it takes to complete the selection and hiring process.
• Requesting candidate reference(s) contact information from candidates during the examination process to expedite the department reference check process. • When relevant, advertising examination process timelines on the job posting for applicant transparency and advance planning.
• Drafting a standard new hire information email for the hiring department to send to selected candidates. This has resulted in uniform communication with complete information and instructions on the next steps for selected candidates and hiring departments.
• When possible, the Human Resources Department, in collaboration with the hiring Departments, conducts promotional recruitment processes when an internal qualified employee pool is available to assist and support retention efforts. • The Human Resources Department at the request of the City Council is collaborating with an external consultant, Baker Tilly that is conducting a classification and compensation study to assist in maintaining competitive salaries, attracting and retaining a qualified workforce.
• Increased advertising efforts have been made by the Human Resources Department to help increase recruitment visibility and attract a higher qualified applicant pool.
Specifically, Human Resources staff is utilizing social media advertising such as LinkedIn as staff has observed an increase in use of this application by job seekers. In addition to advertising, open City employment opportunities on the City’s website, and governmentjobs.com job listings get scrubbed by other online advertising services such as Indeed and ZipRecruiter at no added cost and help increase visibility and outreach.
Careersingovernment.com is another online job advertising vendor Human Resources uses to expand advertisement and visibility efforts; this is dedicated to matching qualified individuals with careers in government and the public sector. They are their own social media campaign and partner with several national diversity network sites to help attract a wider and diverse qualified application pool. • Human Resources staff is continually open to collaborating with hiring departments to review and consider new or specialized advertising options to assist in the recruitment process.
• The Human Resources Department recommends a more frequent review of policies and procedures to ensure legal and market trends are identified and incorporated into City policies and procedures.
Fiscal Impact
There is no fiscal impact associated with this report. This public hearing is for informational purposes.
Attachments
1. I-1 Terms of Employment Policy
2. I-2 Requesting and Recruiting for Personnel Policy
3. I-3 Testing Certification and Eligibility List Policy
4. Redlines of Revised Policies for Reference