Report 2015-132 Recommendation 9 Responses

Report 2015-132: County Pay Practices: Although the Counties We Visited Have Rules in Place to Ensure Fairness, Data Show That a Gender Wage Gap Still Exists (Release Date: May 2016)

Recommendation #9 To: Santa Clara County

To ensure that they consistently demonstrate that candidates are hired for permanent civil service positions based on valid and job-related criteria, regardless of their sex, each county should develop policies requiring hiring managers to document the reasons why they chose the selected candidate over others from the certified eligibility list.

60-Day Agency Response

The County of Santa Clara already requires hiring managers to provide the reasons why one candidate is selected over others from the certified eligibility list. In fact, the report cites Santa Clara County's policies in this regard as establishing a best practice to limit counties' risk against discriminatory employment practices. As this policy has already been implemented, no further action is necessary.

The County of Santa Clara follows the Merit System Rule A25-184(d), which requires, "The appointing authority or designated interviewers shall interview all eligible candidates who have responded to notice of certification prior to appointment, and shall send to the Personnel Director a written record of each interview." This rule is also stated in the Human Resources Practices Manuel, page 104, with the response to the following question, "Must reasons for selecting or not selecting a candidate on the list be indicated? Yes. Appropriate, job-related reasons for hiring decisions must be indicated. If an applicant who was not hired contests the selection, there must be very specific reasons listed for that decision. Limit all comments to job-related, reference-related reasons. (A25-184(d))" As this policy is already in place, no further implementation is necessary.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Fully Implemented

All Recommendations in 2015-132

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.